Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is inviting his Quebec counterpart to the negotiating table to find an agreement on caribou before Christmas, and points out that the province could benefit from hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for biodiversity protection.
Minister Guilbeault sent a letter on Thursday to the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, and to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette-Vézina.
In his letter, Mr. Guilbeault reiterates that his government is ready to implement “a collaborative approach, including federal funding,” to protect the caribou.
Up to $465.8 million
“The government can make available up to $77.8 million in contributions for boreal caribou; this amount is currently reserved for this purpose, but will have to be reallocated to other programs if no opportunity materializes in Quebec in the near future,” wrote the federal minister.
Steven Guilbeault also wrote that he would like to negotiate a nature agreement, “for which Environment and Climate Change Canada is prepared to make an additional contribution of $100 million” and “this sum would be added to the $220 million currently being negotiated with Natural Resources Canada.”
The minister also explained that “$68 million from the 2 Billion Trees program could also be made available to support a possible collaborative agreement to support tree planting for habitat restoration.”
In total, “the federal government could thus pay up to $465.8 million to support Quebec’s efforts to achieve our common conservation objectives, including the protection of 30% of land and water by 2030,” the federal minister informed his provincial counterpart.
“I wish to begin negotiations on a caribou agreement as quickly as possible and, ideally, conclude an agreement before Christmas,” the federal minister indicated in his letter.