Former Minister of Wildlife Pierre Dufour had proposed specific measures in 2021 to protect the mountain caribou of Gaspésie, he revealed on Wednesday. His intention was to table a “block” strategy, as his successor, Benoit Charette, did this week.
“It was a proposal that I made,” said Mr. Dufour, now a simple deputy for Abitibi-Est, who led the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks in the last CAQ mandate. “What was said was: ‘No, we will try to work on a strategy coast to coast, from east to west, in Quebec.” »
The current Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, presented on Tuesday a series of measures intended to protect 3 of the 13 populations of forest and mountain caribou inhabiting Quebec territory. Among these, the herd of around thirty individuals housed between the mountains of the Gaspésie park.
The government of François Legault has been promising for more than five years the submission of a national caribou protection strategy. Hanging at the start of question period on Wednesday, Mr. Dufour welcomed his successor’s decision to work by region.
“When we address general issues like that, it’s very, very difficult not to do it in blocks,” he told Dutyrevealing at the same time that he had put forward specific measures to save the mountain caribou of Gaspésie three years ago.
“It is certain and certain that [je me serais attardé] particularly to the situation of the mountain caribou, because it was the only species of this type that we had,” he said.
Targeted strategy
On Tuesday, the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, sharply criticized the measures envisaged by the Legault government, accusing it of ignoring the situation of several caribou populations.
“The government of Quebec must publish a strategy for all boreal caribou populations in Quebec, including immediate interim measures,” he indicated in a press release.
Asked about the reaction of Ottawa, which had precisely requested the submission of a document before the 1er May, Minister Charette deplored that “the federal government does not have more sensitivity for the regions”.
“I am worried to see the federal government mentioning the possibility of decrees when we have regions that live exclusively from forestry. We must take this into account,” he argued. Minister Guilbeault has not ruled out intervening by decree in Quebec territory in order to protect the forest caribou herds which have not been the subject of specific measures.
In addition to the Gaspé herd, the populations of Charlevoix – around thirty individuals at the last count – and part of the caribou of the North Shore will be targeted by protection measures from Quebec. Minister Benoit Charette will also allow logging and mining activities to be carried out within the territories occupied by these deer.
In total, 11 of the 13 groups identified in Quebec are today “at risk” of disappearing. This is the case, among others, of the Val-d’Or herd, which last reported had less than ten animals.
With Marie-Michèle Sioui