It is with sadness that we learned, on July 14, of the death of Luc Bouthillier, this great defender of the social aspect of forestry in Quebec.
Posted at 10:00 a.m.
We met Mr. Bouthillier in 2013, at the beginning of our commitment to wanting to protect the natural and ancient forests of Mount Kaaikop in Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides.
PHOTO MARTINE LAPOINTE, PROVIDED BY LAVAL UNIVERSITY
The late Luc Bouthillier, professor at Laval University
In fact, in 2013, all hopes were met with the application of an innovative law, the Sustainable Forest Development Act.
This law stemmed from the recommendations of the Coulombe commission, in response to the great disturbance caused by the film The boreal error released over 20 years ago. It was to restore full independence to the Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP) and give citizens a real voice.
In addition to highlighting the environmental importance of forests, this law placed communities at the heart of the process of sustainable forest management so that it could meet their many socio-economic needs related to the economic, ecological and social potential of forests and all the resulting products.
The case of Mount Kaaikop, in the MRC des Laurentides, illustrated, from its application, the failure of the main basis of this law. And the situation to date has hardly changed.
Mr. Bouthillier, aware of the Kaaikop case, which was gaining more and more media coverage, sent us this quote to include in our brief submitted in November 2013 to the Dispute Resolution Committee, in which we were encouraged to participate, although was not addressing us:
Social acceptability invites the expert to enrich his practice with a sensitivity to the beauty of the world and above all, to the people who inhabit it. Did we miss something in the case of Mount Kaaikop?
The spirit of the reform in place since last April is one of openness to citizens. We are only at the beginning of a long learning process which aims to unravel 150 years of delegation of power to the forest industry. The case of Mount Kaaikop seems to me to be exemplary for demonstrating the limits of the system in its current operation. So, let’s learn with a concern for transparency since there are thousands of people following this case.
Luc Bouthillier, Ph.D., Professor of Forest Policy and Environmental Assessment, Laval University, Quebec
Subsequently, we obtained an interlocutory injunction in Superior Court to stop the logging project at Mount Kaaikop. (Kaaikop judgment v. Roy, January 2014)
What did Mr. Bouthillier do next? He invited us to present our case in his course on Quebec Forestry Issues, a mandatory course at the end of the bachelor’s degree in forest engineering at the Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics at Laval University.
As a great pedagogue, he aimed to make all these future managers of our forests aware of the importance of the social aspect in forestry, namely social acceptability.
We went there for five years, the last being in 2020. We saw a great teacher at work with a real passion for the transmission of knowledge.
When we first met, we went to his office at Laval University, a tiny room cluttered with bookshelves and a small desk, all filled with books and reports! It fitted so well with the image of this man of science!
And what about his ability to communicate, both in his class, in the corridors or in public places: a theatrical man who left no one indifferent in his path, both for his knowledge and for his personality!
A great pedagogue, a being very respectful of others and an ardent defender of a forestry practice inclusive of communities has left us.
We will not forget you, Mr. Bouthillier. In fact, our actions will be such as to ensure that citizens have a real place in the development of our forest territory in Quebec.