Ottawa threatens to use Species at Risk Act to protect Quebec caribou

The federal government is warning Quebec it willuse a decree to impose measures to protect woodland caribou if the province fails to come up with its ownplan to adequatelyprotect the species and itsnatural habitat by April 20.

Followingmonths of unsuccessful negotiationswith Quebec, Canada's environment minister,Steven Guilbeault,issued thatultimatum ina letter addressed toQuebec's minister of forests, wildlife and parks, Pierre Dufour, on Sunday. The letterwas obtained by Radio-Canada.

"Environment and Climate Change of Canada is currently updating the [caribou] protection assessment for Quebec, which will allow me to form an opinion on the protection of critical habitat,"Guilbeaultwrote.

Guilbeault gaveDufour a deadline of next Wednesday to send him all information concerning measures to protect Quebec's caribou and their habitat. He says themeasures must be sufficient, otherwise he will recommend the federal Liberal cabinet adopt a decree to impose such measures.

Guilbeault expressed dissatisfaction with the protection measures taken by Quebec in the case of woodland caribou, saying the province has made noreal progress in protecting them.

That lack of progress comes despite a warning issued at the start of the year saying that Quebecneeded todo better, otherwise Ottawa would be forced to intervene.

"What's happening right now is not sufficient to protect the[caribou] species," Guilbeault said at a news conference Tuesday morning in Quebec.

"Quebec once again has the opportunity to act and to come to the table to negotiate in good faith, but it needs to happen quickly."

1st decree of its sort in Canada

According to the federal Species at Risk Act, Guilbeault said,hehasa legalobligation as environment ministerto act.

Unlike an emergency decree, notably invoked by Ottawa in Quebec toprotect chorus frog habitats,this safety net provision in the Species at Risk Act (SARA)has never been used in Canada.Once in effect, it can remain in force for five years.

"We're a bit in uncharted territories," said Guilbeault.

"I hope that we don't get to this point, but I've given instructions to my officials to start preparing the work[...] in the event that Quebec refuses to co-operate."

Once in effect, the order could mean new, federally imposed protections on thousands of square kilometres of forest habitat critical to the survival and recovery of caribou herds.

According to data from the Society for Nature and Parks (SNAP Qubec), which has been pleading for months for Ottawa to intervene,there are about 20 areas in need of immediate protection.Theycover at least 35,000 square kilometres, or 2.3 per centof Quebec territory.

"Given the lack of effective protection on a large portion of the woodland caribou's critical habitat in Quebec, the government of Canada has the legitimacy to use theSpecies at Risk Actsafety net provision," explained Alain Branchaud, a biologist with SNAP Qubec and executive directorofthe Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).

The order could set a precedent, opening the door for Ottawa to intervene in similar matters in vast amounts of territory in the province.

Officials in Dufour's ministrydeclined to comment on Guilbeault's letter, only sayingthat the Quebec forests, wildlife and parks ministerwillrespond to the federal environment ministerdirectly in the next couple of days.

But Premier Franois Legault called Guilbeault's ultimatum another example of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government meddling in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

"This is Quebec's jurisdiction, so we have an independent commission that is looking into this,'' Legault told reporters in Quebec City. "We have to have a balance between saving the caribou but also protecting jobs that are important in certain regions of Quebec.

Problems with Quebeccommission

Guilbeault's letter comes just as Quebec's independent commission on woodland and mountain caribouis starting public hearings. The commission is toexaminetwo options to protect caribou herds while minimizing the impact on the logging industry, butenvironmental groups have said neither option is acceptable.

The Assembly of First Nations QuebecLabrador (AFNQL) has also decried Quebec'sfailure to consider the rights and interests of First Nations in relation to its commission, calling it a "glaring lack of consideration."

"The AFNQL regrets that the commission's mandate is to assess the economic impacts of caribou protection measures on the forest industry, rather than to take into account the impacts of logging on caribou and the rights of First Nations," a statement reads.

For Branchaud, a commission is not enough, and he welcomes Ottawa's decree, even if it would have an impact on the economy.

He saidthe orderis the "strongest measure that can be used in the Species at Risk Act," and he saidthe case is "very strong" for the federal government to move forward with it.

He said Quebec's "outdated" endangered species lawdoes not have the necessary tools to protect caribou and meet the standards of federal law. He also believes that Quebec has postponed putting in placeconcrete protection measures for solong, it will not be ableto challenge a possible federal intervention.

Still, Branchauddoesn't expect Quebec to concede without a fight.

Quebec-Ottawa conflict

One sign ofjust how far apart Quebec and Ottawa are when it comes to protecting caribou is the dissolution of an agreement to co-operate on the issue. When Guilbeault and Dufour met on March 11, they had hoped to find a way to renew the exisitingagreementfor at least a year.

"Unfortunately, our representatives were unable to agree on these terms, and as a result, the agreement ended on March 31, 2022," said Guilbeault in his recent letter.

The expired agreement facilitatedthe transfer of funds from the federal government to Quebec for the conservation of species at risk.

There are currently only 5,252 woodland or mountain caribou known to be left in Quebec.

Four herdsare in a critical situation,namely those in the regions ofVal-d'Or and Charlevoix whose enclosures only have seven and 17 caribou, respectively as well as those on the Gasp peninsulaand inthe Pipmuacanarea, a man-made lake on the boundary between SaguenayLac-Saint-Jean and Quebec's North Shore.