Quebec announces $59.5 million to protect caribou

Wild caribou roam the tundra near The Meadowbank Gold Mine located in the Nunavut Territory of Canada on Wednesday, March 25, 2009. (Nathan Denette, The Canadian Press)

Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette has announced plans to invest $59.5 million to implement projects to protect caribou, which are heavily disturbed by human activity, and is launching regional consultations in Charlevoix and Gaspésie.

These measures are insufficient, however, according to his federal counterpart.

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault expected the Legault government to table its caribou protection strategy by May 1, failing which the file could fall back into his hands.

Failing to present a provincial strategy, Charette opted for what he described as "major" and "historic" measures aimed at certain regions.

But he offered few details on the measures at a news conference in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts on Tuesday.

Here's how the Minister described a "rough breakdown" of the nearly $60 million investment.

"There will be $7.5 million devoted this year to population monitoring and management", and "$7 million will be proposed this year for habitat restoration. In total, $60 million will be divided equally between the two ministries," he briefly explained, referring to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

In a news release, the government wrote that "for the two territories targeted by the regional projects, the legal designation of wildlife habitats of a threatened or vulnerable species is provided for, under the Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife."

The Quebec government also intends to expand the Caribous-Forestiers-de-Manouane-Manicouagan biodiversity reserve (approx. 4,826 km2).

Potential conflict between Quebec and Ottawa

The measures presented on Tuesday concern three of the province's 13 caribou populations.

In a news release, federal minister Steven Guilbeault expressed concern about further delays in the publication of the Quebec government's "caribou strategy."

He noted that "several key elements are missing" from Quebec's presentation, including the government's commitment to reduce the rate of disturbance in caribou habitat "so that at least 65 per cent of the territory of each caribou population is undisturbed."

Guilbeault criticized the fact that "the announcement is silent on several caribou populations" and wrote that additional measures are needed to ensure the species' survival.

On Tuesday, Charette indicated that, in his government's view, "it is not the role of the Canadian government to interfere in this matter," and that his government is "in control of this jurisdiction".

He added that "the federal government has reached agreements with the other provinces," but that Quebec "is going much further than the other provinces, not only in terms of the measures themselves, but also in terms of budgets."

Urgent need for action

In August 2022, the Independent Panel on Woodland and Mountain Caribou submitted a report to the government in which it stressed that there was an "urgency to act" and that it was necessary to "proceed as quickly as possible with the development and implementation of a strategy for the protection and recovery of woodland caribou."

Within days of the report, Quebec and Ottawa reached an agreement in principle to protect the species, and the province committed to publishing its final woodland and mountain caribou strategy by the end of June 2023.

Charette postponed the date, however, due to the forest fires that were raging in Quebec at the time. The government wanted to examine the impact of the fires on caribou and forestry operations.

Guilbeault then asked the province to table its strategy before May 1, 2024.

Quebec is playing a dangerous game

Nature Québec welcomes the $59.5 million investment and the "regional projects" for protection and restoration but "finds it unacceptable that the caribou strategy promised five years ago has still not been unveiled" and that the government is content to present "regional projects".

In a news release, Nature Québec writes that it believes "Québec is playing a dangerous game and opening the door wide to federal intervention."

For its part, the Société pour la nature et les parcs (SNAP Québec) welcomes "the partial unblocking of the caribou file" in Quebec City, and maintains that the Environment Minister has presented measures that have the potential to contribute to the recovery of the Gaspé and Charlevoix caribou.

However, SNAP Quebec Director Alain Branchaud stated that, in the absence of a clear timetable for the tabling of a caribou strategy for the entire territory, and in view of the urgency to act, we maintain our demand for rapid intervention by the federal government to provide targeted protection for herds on the brink of collapse, particularly the Pipmuakan herd.

Consultations

The government is inviting the public to take part in public consultations on projects aimed specifically at protecting the woodland caribou population in Charlevoix and the mountain caribou population in the Gaspé Peninsula.

Under the Loi sur les espèces menacées ou vulnérables, the woodland caribou was designated a vulnerable species in 2005.

By February 2022, the Quebec government had captured the Charlevoix herd, then numbering 16 animals, and placed it in an enclosure as part of a controversial plan to prevent the extinction of herds in isolated areas.

Gaspesian mountain caribou live in the Chic-Chocs and McGerrigle mountain ranges. This population was designated a threatened species in Quebec in 2009. There are now only around thirty of them left.

The caribou population has been declining in Quebec for several years. There are now only around 5,000 woodland or mountain caribou left in Quebec.

Logging is the main cause of this precarious situation, with logging roads destroying habitat and encouraging the movement of the caribou's natural predators, such as bears and wolves.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 30, 2024.