Caribou: Ottawa considers emergency orders in Quebec

At the request of some First Nations, the office of Canada’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbault is now examining the possibility of intervening in Quebec through emergency decrees to protect parts of the woodland caribou habitat, we have learned Radio-Canada. .

According to our information, tribal communities in the province Mr. They have put pressure on Guilbelt’s office, demanding stronger action to avoid the collapse of some herds in critical situations.

Sources close to the matter confirmed that the analysis has been ongoing at Environment and Climate Change Canada since September.

Federal officials have made requests for information to their provincial counterparts to share the file, which Mr. Allow the Killfield office to decide on emergency orders. These must first be approved by the Council of Ministers in Ottawa.

Letter to Benoit Charette

Steven Guilbeut recently expressed his desire to Quebec Environment Minister Benoît Charette. In a letter dated October 10, Mr. Guilbault specifically called on the François Legault government to meet with First Nations to start a dialogue with them about protecting the deer.

Mr. Charette’s office confirmed it received the memo in question, but did not want to meet with First Nations at this stage.

The new federal initiative comes as Quebec still delays submitting a new strategy to protect forest and mountain caribou habitat. Last year, Mr. Guilbeault asked the province to submit its document no later than June 2023. Originally planned for 2019, the strategy was postponed by almost five years by the CAQ government.

Open in full screen mode

However, the central government gave the new deadline due to the historic forest fires during the summer. While Quebec has yet to set a deadline, Ottawa now appears to be getting impatient. The Quebec government is awaiting new calculations of allowable forest cover by the chief forester, taking the fires into account, in order to adjust its strategy.

Emergency Order

An emergency order is granted under section 80 of the Species at Risk Act in Canada. A competent minister should recommend [d’adopter un décret d’urgence] If it considers that the species is exposed to immediate threats to its survival or recoveryWe can read there.

In Quebec, the article has already been used to slow work on Longueuil, an important habitat for the chorus frog. Like the tree frog, the boreal caribou is on the country’s endangered species list, and therefore may qualify for such a designation if there is sufficient evidence in a given field.

Then the central government should create the necessary habitat for the species that come under the mandate.

Open in full screen mode

An emergency decree should not be confused with a so-called decree safety net, was also considered by the federal government in Quebec to protect woodland caribou. Never used in Canada, it is provided for in section 61. It will cover all critical habitat for caribou in Quebec and last up to five years.

A critical habitat order should be recommended by the Union Environment Minister if it is considered that the existing laws and conservation measures in a province ‘do not protect part or all of the critical habitat of a species considered to be at risk.

For woodland caribou, the two mandate analysis processes will continue in tandem, our sources indicate. Emergency decrees target only restricted areas of the region, while the critical habitat decree covers 35,000 km.² Territory of Quebec.

Pipmuacan and Val-d’Or

Innu Essipit First Nation Council director of development and territory Michael Ross confirms his community is among those who have contacted Minister Steven Guilbelt. Along with the Innus First Nation of Mashteuiatsh, Essipit is calling for immediate protection of some areas north of the Valin Mountains.

The aim is to interrupt any development or industrial activity within the range of the Pipmuacan herd. In the fall, the herd numbered just 225 during the Quebec government’s last inventory in 2020.

According to data from the Ministry of Wildlife, more than 80% of its habitat is disturbed by logging.

Open in full screen mode

Mr. According to Rose, it took some time for Ottawa to consider the emergency decree option. We wrote a letter in March 2022, he hoped. In the letter, Ottawa did not yet specify which type of mandate it would like to adopt, but it floated two options.

Mr. Ross recalled that this time, indigenous communities wanted above all to send a signal of urgency to act, while Quebec has been delaying a future version of its strategy to protect woodland caribou habitat since 2016.

In addition to Pipmuacan’s herds, the Charlevoix, Val-d’Or and Gaspésie (Mountain) herds are currently in critical condition in Quebec.

Strong signal

Despite the delays, the Innu of Essipit are happy to see the federal government moving, now considering an emergency decree. They would do well to recognize Quebec’s inaction. We welcome this and hope that if Quebec does not improve its governance, the federal government will step up.For Radio-Canada Mr. Ross declared.

The latter recalled that the latter had also initiated further legal proceedings against Quebec for failing to comply with its obligations to consult with First Nations regarding the protection of woodland caribou.

Last week, Quebec-Labrador’s Assembly of First Nations, voiced by Chief Ghislaine Picard, condemned the province’s continued neglect of aboriginal people in the development of its strategy. Awareness can be brutalwarned that

In addition to the Innu, the Anishnabek First Nation also requested an emergency order from Ottawa.

Open in full screen mode

Can’t wait any longer