Time is running out on the Quebec government to put forward a strategy to protect Woodland Caribou in the northcentral region of the province.
For years, local First Nations and wildlife protection groups in the Val d’Or and Charlevoix regions have been calling on the provincial government to put forward a caribou management plan.
They argue because of declining habitat, caribou populations are on the decline and in danger of extinction.
In June, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault recommended an emergency order to cabinet requiring the province put forward a caribou strategy and the deadline to do so has been extended to Sept. 15.
In an environment committee meeting earlier this week, Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief for Quebec and Labrador, Ghislain Picard, said the Quebec government gave First Nations no choice but to turn to Ottawa for help.
“The government of Quebec persists in excluding First Nations from all decision making related to caribou,” he said. “Faced with the refusal to cooperate, the First Nations called on the federal government to intervene in accordance with its legal obligation. Minister Guilbeault was the only one to take our concerns and propose solutions seriously.”
Also, in June, a Quebec superior court ruled the province failed in its duty to consult Essipit and Mashteuiatsh First Nations on the development of a caribou management plan.
However, not everyone is in favour of the emergency order.
Local municipalities and the forestry industry say claims of a rapidly declining caribou population in the area have been exaggerated and compliance with the order would create economic chaos.
“It’s nearly impossible to anticipate all the devastating impacts,” Sacré-Coeur Mayor Lise Boulianne told the same environment committee in Ottawa. “Unthinkable to foresee all the consequences of such a disaster following the decision by the federal government. How can we imagine everybody getting up every morning without any idea of what their future could look like?”
Boulianne estimated up to 70 per cent of her community would be impacted if local forestry company Boisaco Incorporated was to close its doors.
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Boisaco president Steeve St.-Gelais agreed the economic effects would be severe.
“If this order is adopted, 600 direct jobs will disappear,” he said “It will be the loss of $200 million in annual benefits for our sector. That is unthinkable.”
The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois are also against the emergency order while the NDP is in support.
It is estimated Quebec’s caribou population is between roughly 6,160 and 7,450.
