Quebec pledges millions to protect vulnerable caribou, but still no timeline

The Quebec government has announced a $59.5-million bid to safeguard Charlevoix's boreal caribou and the Gaspésie mountain caribou.

These two regions were chosen because they have not suffered the full impact of last summer's forest fires and the herds there are particularly vulnerable, said Benoit Charette, minister of the environment, the fight against climate change, wildlife and parks.

In particular, the government intends to better protect an area of ​​96 square kilometres in Mont-Vallières-de-Saint-Réal, near the Gaspésie provincial park, where there is mining.

"We are not talking about a protected area, but about administrative measures taking into account mining issues," said Charette during a Tuesday news conference.

In addition, the government says it will expand the Caribous-Forestiers-de-Manouane-Manicouagan biodiversity reserve.

The regional projects cover almost 15,000 square kilometres in total, Quebec says in a news release.

"The recommended approach aims to increase predictability for the local communities — in particular the Indigenous communities who have a special relationship with the caribou and its habitat — while ensuring regional economic growth that is in harmony with protecting the species," the release says.

The approach takes into account the at-risk state of the caribou, the challenges of natural resource development and the specific issues related to recreational tourism, it says.

Plan in stasis during public consultation

But the projects will be subject to a 90-day online public consultation. CBC News asked Charette when the measures would actually be put in place.

"It takes time, so I don't have a specific date for you," he replied. "But we will take the time needed, in respect and in regard to the population consulted."

The boreal caribou of Charlevoix was designated a vulnerable species in 2005, and the mountain caribou of Gaspésie was designated a threatened species in 2009.

Quebec has repeatedly postponed the submission of a caribou protection strategy, notably last year due to major forest fires.

The federal government threatened to intervene to protect the caribou if Quebec did not present a protection strategy by May 1.

A study published late last year warns that clear-cutting has left forests in Ontario and Quebec severely depleted — and puts boreal caribou, also known as woodland caribou, at risk.

The peer-reviewed research, published in the academic journal Land, found that logging practices between 1976 and 2020 have resulted in the loss of more than 14 million hectares of forest, an area roughly twice the size of New Brunswick. 

Nearly all remaining caribou herds in Ontario and Quebec — 19 of 21 — are considered at "high risk" or "very high risk" because of disturbances to their habitat.

Environment minister and groups decry plan

Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault denounced what he said is a lack of commitment from Quebec to reduce the rate of disturbance of caribou habitat so that at least 65 per cent of the territory remains undisturbed. 

He said the Quebec government must publish a strategy for all boreal caribou populations in Quebec, including immediate interim measures.

Alain Branchaud, director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society's Quebec division, said there is an urgency to act, but Quebec has presented a plan without a clear timetable.

"We maintain our request for rapid intervention from the federal government to protect the populations in a targeted manner," he said.

On its Facebook page, the environmentalist group Nature Québec said Quebec's plan comes after five years of waiting, but in the end only concerns a fraction of the caribou in the province.

"It is alarming that no schedule has been presented for the unveiling of a global caribou strategy," the post says.

"Quebec is playing a dangerous game. Mr. Legault exposes himself to an intervention from Ottawa, which also has a legal obligation to ensure the survival of the caribou."