The government of Quebec is doing too little in terms of protecting wetlands and bodies of water to respect a key objective of its law, warns the commissioner for sustainable development, Janique Lambert, in a report tabled in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
According to his observations, the management of the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) has several “shortcomings”, which “put at risk” the achievement of the objective ” no net loss” included in the Quebec legislative framework as of 2017.
The Act respecting the conservation of wetlands and bodies of water stipulates that losses of wetlands and bodies of water must at best be avoided and at worst compensated. These environments, the Commissioner points out in her report, nevertheless play “an important role in the fight against climate change” and serve to preserve biodiversity.
Except that the Quebec environmental authorities fail to adjust the course after years of destruction of wetlands in Quebec.
According to Commissioner Lambert, who plays the role of environmental watchdog in Quebec, the MELCCFP is slow to use “effectively the mechanisms provided for ensuring the protection and sustainable use of wetlands and bodies of water”, even if , from 1990 to 2011, nearly 570 km2 of these spaces have been disturbed or destroyed in Quebec.
For example, in 2018 the ministry developed a methodology to identify 1,563 km2 of “remarkable or rare wetlands or bodies of water” in Quebec territory. This was never used: “the MELCCFP has never proceeded to protect five wetlands and bodies of water, as provided for in its 2017-2020 strategic plan. In fact, the MELCCFP has never made a recommendation to its Minister to designate wetlands and bodies of water on a map,” the commissioner laments in her report.
Uncompensated losses
When wetlands are razed for any reason, the law requires the Government of Quebec to compensate as much as possible for the losses incurred. This is the “no net loss” objective.
Since changes to the law in 2017, however, less than 40% of the 15,000,000 m2 lost have been filled, observes Janique Lambert. “The maintenance of the areas and ecological functions of the wetlands and waterways of several watersheds is compromised,” she says.
Further details will follow.