Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is not closing the door on oil drilling in the “marine refuges” created to protect biodiversity. The Trudeau government has also approved the auction of 14 permits that encroach on the largest refuge on the east coast. Environmental groups, however, denounce this open door to the industry, while Ottawa begins the development of its “2030 strategy” for biodiversity.
When Minister Guilbeault announced Monday in Montreal the start of “consultations” for the Canadian plan resulting from the commitments made at the recent UN conference on biodiversity (COP15), the oil company BP has already begun the first drilling exploratory mission in the largest marine refuge established off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Should the door be closed to this kind of project within the framework of the future strategy, which should make it possible to protect 30% of marine ecosystems by the end of the decade? “The exploitation of natural resources is under provincial jurisdiction,” Minister Steven Guilbeault first replied. “That does not mean that we cannot work with the provinces to establish zones where there will be no industrial activities,” he added, without further details.
The BP drilling, which had undergone a federal environmental assessment, received final authorization on May 5 from the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. This organization, which is administered by representatives of the provinces and the Canadian government, also recently launched a call for tenders for new oil exploration permits. No less than 14 of these permits, totaling 22,757 km2encroach in part or in whole on the marine refuge of 55,000 km2 where BP has just launched its drilling.
However, Minister Guilbeault assures that the federal government complies with international rules regarding the protection of natural environments and the species that depend on them. “In terms of designing protected areas and achieving our goals, we follow the guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which provide for different categories of protection. This is what guides the action of our government,” he said on Monday, in response to a question from the Duty.
Marine refuges are considered “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs), under the rules of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A 2019 report by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas OECM “Working Group” notes that “industrial activities and infrastructure development that harm the environment should not occur in ECMEAs”.
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“The exclusion of industrial activities in marine refuges is a strict minimum to respect the international standards of the IUCN”, estimates the director general of the Society for Nature and Parks of Quebec, Alain Branchaud. “By stretching the rubber band of compromise, Ottawa undermines its credibility, maintains the ambient cynicism and does not fulfill its mission of protecting biodiversity,” he adds.
“Allowing oil drilling, moreover in a marine refuge, is insane and shows that this government favors the oil industry at the expense of the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity”, added the head of the climate and energy campaign. at Greenpeace, Patrick Bonin.
Same story with Anne-Céline Guyon, project manager and climate expert at Nature Québec. “I think you have to be consistent, and here, clearly, there is a lack of consistency. We must close the door to oil drilling. We are in a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis. There is no more room for new infrastructures and new drilling,” she argued, on the sidelines of Minister Guilbeault’s press briefing on the consultations for the development of the protection plan for the biodiversity.
In the wake of the commitments made at COP15, the Trudeau government promises to implement a “national strategy” which aims in particular to protect 30% of Canada’s natural land and marine environments by 2030. sailors, who are open to the search for fossil fuels, are part of the measures to achieve this objective.
“Nature cannot wait any longer. Now is the time to act, ”said Steven Guilbeault during his press briefing Monday morning. “The Government of Canada is committed to considering nature in all the decisions we make every day,” he also stressed.