The debate over the fate of the woodland caribou has brought us back to sterile Manichaeisms these days. Yes, jobs are at stake. Yes, herds are in danger. But the problem is not just about pitting the former against the latter, despite what those who seek to simplify an issue that intersects with such fundamental elements as the future of our boreal forest, the resilience of our forest industry and the development of our territory may say.
For eight years, François Legault’s government has been promising a plan to protect caribou and their habitat. It has only itself to blame if Ottawa is now inviting itself into its home with its big boots. By choosing to wait and see, Quebec has let time quietly but surely do its undermining work on populations that it knew were weakened.
The sense of urgency invoked by federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault to justify his decree targeting three herds in Quebec is the direct consequence of the indolence of the CAQ. And it is well-founded, despite what the latter say, who contest the federal government’s analysis while being irritated by this new encroachment on their jurisdictions.
The Legault government is right on form. This matter is indeed its own; the wand that Steven Guilbeault is waving constitutes an intrusion. But it is wrong on substance, because the situation is such that it cannot be stretched without harmful consequences for this deer that occupies a special place in our imagination.
The federal Environment Ministry calculates that there are 6,162 to 7,445 woodland caribou remaining in Quebec, where the emblematic animal is under imminent threat, in its opinion. In January, an international study estimated that 11 of the 13 populations were at “risk” of disappearing in this territory. Securing the herds of Charlevoix, Val-d’Or and Pipmuacan has therefore become a pressing necessity, argues Minister Guilbeault.
In his excellent report on the forest caribou published this week in The Dutyour environmental reporter highlights the essential role that this so-called “umbrella” species plays in the health of our boreal forest because of the large spaces it uses. Protecting it also means protecting up to 80 animal and plant species. Alexandre Shields quotes the words of biologist Alice-Anne Simard, whose phrase sums up what is at stake here: “The caribou is the canary in the mine. If it is retreating so much, it is because the forest is not doing well.”
Noted.
Now, there is the art and there is the manner. This summer, the Chief Forester of Quebec calculated that protecting these three populations would reduce annual forestry possibilities by 4% (1.6 million hectares), a little more than the area devoured by the 2023 fires (1.3 million). Federal calculations made public this week by Radio-Canada suggest that the Quebec economy could lose $670 to $895 million over 10 years. Some fifty businesses and 1,400 workers are likely to suffer the repercussions in 28 communities.
The use of the courts to challenge this decree was part of the potential strategies evaluated by Quebec to face this storm. By fixing its gaze and its immediate objectives on the forest caribou alone, however, it confirms its short-sightedness. The caribou is the tree that hides the forest. And the forest is not doing well.
Scientists rushing to his bedside observe that the boreal forest has possibly passed a “critical threshold” beyond which it will reorganize itself “abruptly and/or irreversibly.” However, the weaker it becomes, the less carbon it absorbs. Worse, each time it burns, it releases a portion of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) that it had patiently stored.
The forest industry itself is in poor health and in dire need of reform. The effects of today’s volatile market are hard to bear. They are exacerbated by the U.S.’s countervailing tariffs on lumber. The result is more closures and consolidations, sometimes without even the woodland caribou having anything to do with it.
In a recent joint statement, the CSD, CSN, Métallos and Unifor unions denounced a situation that has become unsustainable due to the inaction of François Legault’s government in the face of the crisis facing the forestry industry and its workers. Its inaction and stubborn attitude, they say, are making the situation worse and turning workers “into an instrument of political discord.”
Like the woodland caribou, what the forest industry needs most is a healthy, viable and sustainable boreal forest. With climate change knocking on our doors, a new transition is necessary. If Quebec were not so busy buying time and getting angry about Ottawa’s intrusion, it would see that it is up to it to take up the baton of this essential project.