(Ottawa) Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault still hopes to be able to negotiate with Quebec to protect caribou habitat even though the adoption of a decree that would allow Ottawa to “take control of a territory” where the animal lives is imminent. His desire to use the stick has sparked a storm of protest since Monday.

He denies not taking into account the impacts on the forestry industry and the regions that depend on it, as accused by Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette.

“It’s not true that we don’t take the industry into account, but we can’t ignore the decree and the imminent extinction of a species either. And alas, that’s what Quebec does,” he retorted in a press scrum before Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

In addition to criticism from his counterpart, Minister Guilbeault attracted criticism from his political adversaries.

“It’s not caribou OR forestry jobs: it’s caribou AND forestry jobs,” reacted the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, on the social network and makes fun of the right whale, but he wants to tell Quebec what to do and what not to do about the caribou. »

He suggests reaching a consensus with the affected regions to arrive at “a negotiated solution” and “avoid further federal interference.”

The leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, directly calls on him to renounce his decree. “Mr. Guilbeault: your radical policies are endangering thousands of jobs in the Quebec forestry sector,” he wrote on X. The forestry industry is crucial for the economy of Quebec’s regions. »

Minister Guilbeault said he had no choice to act since he is obliged to do so under the Species at Risk Act. He is expected to present his decree at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning for adoption.

“The issue of endangered species is an area of ​​jurisdiction where the federal government can intervene. So, I don’t even have a choice, but Quebec still has time to do what it should do and act,” he insisted. He specified that he preferred “to collaborate with the government of Quebec than to be in a confrontational situation.”

If adopted by Cabinet, the decree will be subject to a 60-day consultation. Quebec will therefore have two months to present a plan to protect caribou habitat.

La Presse reported last week that the Legault government had once again postponed caribou protection measures by extending consultation on pilot projects announced in April until October 31. It was scheduled to end on July 30. In April, he unveiled a partial plan to restore habitats, protect territories, supervise uses and make regulatory changes for the very vulnerable herds of mountain caribou in Gaspésie and forest caribou in Charlevoix instead of a global strategy for protecting all of the province’s dozen caribou herds.

Minister Guilbeault recalled that the Government of Quebec had made a commitment in 2016 to implement a recovery plan for caribou populations which continue to decline and that in 2022, it had committed in a joint letter with Ottawa to submit a plan to protect at least 65% of its habitat and to consult indigenous populations.

Over time, the logging industry removed much of the old forest and replaced it with younger trees, depriving caribou of their habitat and food. Also, forest roads encourage the movement of caribou’s natural predators such as bears and wolves.

In August 2022, the Independent Commission on Forest and Mountain Caribou submitted a report to the Government of Quebec, in which it underlined that there is an “urgent need to act” and that it was necessary to “proceed as quickly as possible to the development and implementation of a woodland caribou protection and recovery strategy.”

A few days after this report, Quebec and Ottawa reached an agreement in principle to protect the species and the province committed to publishing its final strategy on forest and mountain caribou before the end of June 2023.

Minister Charette, however, pushed back the date because of the forest fires which were then hitting Quebec territory. The government wanted to examine the impact of the fires on caribou and logging.

Then, Minister Guilbeault asked the province to submit its strategy before May 1, 2024.

The caribou population has been declining in Quebec for several years. There would only be around 5,000 forest or mountain caribou left in the province.