The day after the deadline for his ultimatum issued in Quebec on the protection of the woodland caribou, the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, will begin the process for the adoption of a decree to limit the decline of this threatened species. .
Although his preference remains to reach an agreement with the Legault government, Minister Guilbeault says he is obliged to act in this direction.
“As there is no longer an agreement and so far no will on the part of the Government of Quebec, I must proceed with all the steps that will lead to the adoption of a decree by the cabinet,” said he said during an announcement, Thursday in Laval, on a new program of ecological corridors.
In a letter dated April 8, Mr. Guilbeault had given Quebec Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, Pierre Dufour, until April 20 to inform him of his caribou and habitat protection plan.
If the plan was deemed insufficient, Mr. Guilbeault had indicated that he would recommend that the cabinet use the provisions of the Species at Risk Act to put measures in place to protect caribou habitat in Quebec.
“The door is still open if the Government of Quebec wants to reach an agreement with us, but I will not stop the procedures for the adoption of the decree until the Government of Quebec has proposed something concrete”, mentioned Mr. Guilbeault.
He indicated that discussions have taken place between the two parties, but that in his view these “negotiations are not concrete proposals for the protection of the habitat”.
Creation of ecological corridors
Ottawa is also launching a new national program to protect ecosystems and reduce biodiversity loss.
The federal government will inject just over $60 million over the next five years to create new ecological corridors across the country. The amount comes from the 2.3 billion envelope provided for in the 2021 budget for natural heritage.
The new program is a start, said Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault at a press conference Thursday at Bois de l’Équerre, one of Laval’s last major urban forests.
This regime will be led by Parks Canada. It will first have the mandate to establish with other levels of government, experts and Aboriginal partners the criteria and to map the areas where the corridors could take shape.
Ecological corridors aim to help species move between conservation areas, allowing them to interact and find habitat.
The federal initiative is part of Canada’s commitment to conserve 25% of land, freshwater and oceans by 2025 and 30% by 2030, said Minister Guilbeault.