A few days before the start of the election campaign in Quebec, the Legault government reached an agreement in principle with the federal government on the protection of woodland caribou, in addition to releasing a report underlining its “urgency to act” to save the ‘species.
According to the announcement made Monday morning, all the herds in Quebec will be subject to protective measures. 65% of the natural habitat of boreal caribou and mountain caribou in the Gaspé will be protected, according to a mechanism that allows the involvement of Aboriginal communities.
“This allows the two levels of government to affirm, today, that they are confident of reaching an agreement aimed at maintaining, protecting and restoring woodland caribou on Quebec territory,” reads the Federal press release.
The governments therefore agree to avoid the disappearance of Charlevoix caribou, as envisaged in a scenario developed by the commission on woodland caribou, set up by the Legault government. This scenario was ultimately rejected outright by its final report.
According to the agreement in principle, Quebec will publicly announce its strategy no later than June 2023. This plan would involve the creation of legal wildlife habitats and biological refuges, as well as the dismantling of forest roads. These measures will cost at least $12 million in Quebec and $6.1 million in Ottawa.
The Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks of Quebec took the opportunity Monday to unveil its report on the sustainability of caribou. In particular, it concludes that Quebec has a legal and moral responsibility to act, urgently, and with the help of indigenous knowledge. It recommends the creation of additional protected areas, including that of Pipmuacan, requested by the Innu Council of Pessamit, as well as in the Montagnes Blanches sector.
Lack of concrete actions
“There is nothing today that goes in the direction of concrete actions,” believes Alain Branchaud, director general of the Quebec section of the Society for Nature and Parks of Canada.
According to him, there are still to be designated as “protected areas” at least three priority sites, totaling about 35,000 km2in order to truly protect the woodland caribou, a species that needs large areas of forest to live.
“We have just bought peace with this agreement for the electoral period,” he analyzes.
Canada’s Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, acknowledges that the details of the conservation plan have yet to be released. “We give ourselves until June of next year for a final agreement,” he recalls.
Whatever the color of the next government, it will be very difficult for him to deny the agreement in principle announced Monday, says Steven Guilbeault. In the same breath, he indicates that a lot more money could be put on the table in future announcements on this subject.
“The possibility of the federal government using the Species at Risk Act [pour protéger le caribou] is still there,” warns the Montreal elected official.
The duty reported in April that Minister Guilbeault had raised the specter of federal regulations to protect “critical habitat” for caribou, failing to see sufficient commitments from Quebec to halt the decline of the species.
The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, then replied that the management of caribou herds falls under the “jurisdiction” of the province. The two governments disagreed on concrete measures to protect caribou, in the context of their “collaboration” on the protection of species at risk.
Boreal caribou have been on the list of threatened species under Canada’s Species at Risk Act since 2003 and on the list of vulnerable species in Quebec under Quebec’s Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species since 2005.