The CAQ believes that the federal government is trying to divert attention from the controversial Bay du Nord oil project and denounces its interference in provincial affairs by issuing its ultimatum for the protection of caribou.
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Quebec has until April 20 to send Ottawa “all information concerning Quebec’s protection of boreal caribou and their critical habitat.”
The ultimatum was issued last week by the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, to the Quebec Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, Pierre Dufour, in a missive whose The newspaper got a copy.
If Mr. Guilbeault assesses that the measures put in place in the province are not sufficient to preserve the species at risk, he will be forced to apply for a protection order.
A “RIDER” METHOD
The federal government would then take control of the management of all activities on the territory inhabited by the species.
Invited to respond to this ultimatum, Premier François Legault denounced the federal government’s tendency to interfere in Quebec affairs.
“You have to have a balance between saving the caribou, but also protecting jobs that are important,” added Mr. Legault.
Claiming to have implemented several measures to protect the animal, the Quebec Minister of Forests was visibly irritated by the distribution of the letter.
“I find it cavalier,” said Pierre Dufour dryly.
“If that’s his method [à M. Guilbeault] to get out of the trouble of Bay du Nord, I find that this is not the right way to do it”, he specified, referring to the controversial oil project which was accepted last week by the federal minister of the environment.
IN DANGER
Passing through the Grand Marché de Québec yesterday morning, the federal minister confirmed the comments he made in his missive.
“I don’t want it to come to this, but [on prépare] work to request this decree [puisque] the government of Quebec refuses to cooperate,” he said.
According to the Independent Commission on Woodland and Mountain Caribou, there are only 5,252 individuals left in the province.
–With Jérémy Bernier and Marc-André Gagnon.
Reference-www.journaldequebec.com