caribou

Impact study questioned by environmental group

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

Environnement vert plus has raised concerns about the credibility of a study conducted by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, which was commissioned by the Regroupement des MRC de la Gaspésie. The study claims that the caribou pilot project could result in significant job losses and an economic downturn of $23 million in Haute-Gaspésie. 

Spokesperson for Environnement vert plus, Pascal Bergeron, criticized the report stating, “We find that the report is alarmist and the consequences in terms of job losses are overestimated. The report lacks credibility.” 

The environmental group mentions, in particular, a title in the document which states that “Several other projects will be put at risk because of the caribou conservation measures.” Among these are, La source Isabella, the exploitation of critical minerals and Ressources Minières Pélican. 

“Regarding Pélican Mineral Resources, we called the promoter and he told us that his project is not on the territory targeted by caribou protection. Of the three projects that were presented and that are at risk, none are actually at risk. For me, statements like that take away a lot of credibility from the report,” says Mr. Bergeron. 

“What we feel is that a mandate was given to the firm to find all the possible holes where there could be job losses, make a big addition and produce a figure that would scare people. It succeeded in scaring people, but it has little credibility for the rest,” adds the environmentalist. 

Mr. Bergeron is aware that the recreational tourism component could be impacted but blames the Quebec government for its lack of communication following the presentation of the pilot project in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts in April. 

“The government did not communicate anything afterward. Benoit Charette, instead of touring Ottawa to prevent the federal government from issuing a decree on a species that he is supposed to protect, should come to Haute-Gaspésie to explain the measures that he wants to implement, to seek out the concerns of people on the ground and to adapt,” suggests Mr. Bergeron. 

According to him, Ottawa considers that certain recreational tourism activities are compatible with the protection of caribou. 

“Of course, we will not go ski-dooing or four-wheeling on Mount Jacques-Cartier, but for off-trail skiing, there is plenty of room. Areas that have already been devastated by the forestry industry could be used for off-trail skiing. Quebec is doing things halfway,” mentions the spokesperson. 

“It would be appropriate to reduce the distribution area, but to increase protection in the immediate perimeter of the Parc de la Gaspésie. We should take the area around the park to restore the habitat rather than having 98% of the telemetric data that imply the same protection measures that do not take into account the uses of the territory,” maintains the environmentalist. 

On the forestry aspect, Mr. Bergeron emphasizes that the plan to recover 5,000 hectares of forest damaged by a windfall last December is misleading. 

“What science tells us is that it is not in our interest to come and disturb a habitat that has been naturally disturbed. When we read what is said about forest fires, we are going to recover the wood, we are affecting the soil, we are creating entry routes for predators… It is not a good idea. This proposal must be studied more rigorously,” believes Mr. Bergeron. 

According to him, the forestry economy is undergoing complete restructuring while there is a major crisis, maintaining that some Quebec sawmills that closed for summer maintenance have not restarted their activities. 

“The unions are asking for consolidation because there is too much industrial capacity for the remaining wood. Even if we don’t protect the caribou, would the Gaspésie sawmills stay open? We should stop blaming the caribou for everything and hold a (Quebec-wide) general assembly on the forest,” suggests Mr. Bergeron. 

A public consultation regarding the project will conclude on October 31. Mr. Bergeron expressed uncertainty about how much weight Quebec will give to the feedback received. “We understood that there was a strong political game at the Council of Ministers that prevents the work from being done properly. What will be taken into account? The CAQ (Coalition Avenir Québec) will go where the wind blows,” illustrates Mr. Bergeron.

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Caribou pilot project: 1,000 jobs at risk in Haute-Gaspésie according to study

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

SAINTE-ANNE-DES-MONTS – A study has concluded that approximately 1,000 jobs are at stake and that there could be a loss of economic spinoffs amounting to $23 million in Haute-Gaspésie if the pilot project to protect caribou, mentioned in the spring, was to be implemented in this territory without modifications. 

The document, commissioned by the Table des préfets, highlights concerns raised by the prefect of the MRC, Guy Bernatchez. “I want to emphasize regional solidarity even if it only affects Haute-Gaspésie,” the prefect immediately mentions. “It’s major. We have figures that speak for themselves. It’s big. We have been dreading it for a long time, but with the anticipated declines, it is major,” he noted. 

In recreational tourism, the anticipated loss could be as high as 89%. “I admit that it is even more than we thought. The predictability related to our businesses is major,” he says. 

This observation raises alarms about the potential disappearance of a sector that has been crucial for the MRC’s development over the past ten years. “Businesses will no longer be able to have predictability. We will no longer have it. We could talk about a loss of almost $23 million just for Haute-Gaspésie. It is major,” mentions Mr. Bernatchez. 

This study will be used to complete the brief that the MRC plans to submit during the public consultations on the pilot project. “Recreational tourism, forest management: together, that is more than 1,000 jobs, not to mention the wind industry. We want to position ourselves to have new wind farms. We have the best wind deposits in Quebec. We have social acceptability. We have to give ourselves the chance to be able to do it,” says the prefect. 

The MRC of Haute-Gaspésie has 550 kilometres of forest roads. “Our access roads to the territory will suffer in the ranges,” adds Mr. Bernatchez. 

“What we are describing, is a minimum of forest management could be done in the caribou range. During the night of December 18 to 19, 5,000 hectares of forest fell due to high winds. The moratorium should be lifted to recover this wood, and bring volumes to our plants. These areas could be redeveloped by our forestry companies. In the future, we will have forests that are favourable for caribou,” illustrates the prefect, who is a trained forest manager. 

“There is a central line between the economy and ecology to be reached,” says the prefect, who hopes that the Quebec government will listen to the community for the next steps in the brief that will be submitted. 

In June, the MRC had already expressed serious concerns after analyzing the documents submitted for public consultation as part of the pilot project targeting the Gaspésie caribou. 

The document was broadly presented on April 30 by the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, during his visit to Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, where he presented the Caribou Protection Plan for the Gaspésie and Charlevoix regions. 

This plan, based on the recommendations of the Caribou Commission, was subject to a 90-day public consultation, which was extended until October 31, partly at the request of the MRC of Haute Gaspésie. This plan had received a mixed reception in the MRC, and its analysis confirms the community’s fears. 

The MRC had adopted a resolution at the time requesting two key elements from the government: Better communication with the population and a reconsideration of the proposed protection zones. 

The project indicated that the habitat zone under restoration represents 5,000 square kilometres, including the zone along the St. Lawrence River and some private woodlots. 

The prefect mentioned that this zone was disturbed up to 87% and the objective in the pilot project is to reduce it to 35%. 

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Caribou to remain in “temporary” captivity

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

SAINTE-ANNE-DES-MONTS – The ten female and three male caribou captured this winter, along with the six surviving calves, might remain in captivity at the Mount McGerrigle enclosure, in the Parc de la Gaspésie, longer than initially planned.

The Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks indicates that “recent observations regarding the low productivity and recruitment rates observed in recent years have led the ministry to consider temporarily keeping a portion of the Gaspésie caribou population in captivity in 2024, rather than using maternity pens involving the annual capture of pregnant females and their release with their calves at the end of the summer, as deployed in 2023,” states the response to an inquiry made by SPEC regarding the 19 caribous being held in captivity.”

Captivity is a final and temporary measure to protect isolated caribou populations in a very precarious situation,” mentions the ministry. The Minister responsible for Wildlife, Benoit Charette, indicated this spring in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts that there were only 24 caribou left in the Gaspésie.

“The presence of three males in the enclosure will allow one or more reproductive cycles to be carried out in captivity and provide the information needed to optimize recruitment while documenting the low pregnancy rates observed in the wild,” the ministry explains in its letter.
Various factors such as survival rates, physical condition, sex ratio or productivity could lead to occasional releases of caribou, as a proportion of nine caribou remain in the wild, assuming those not captured last spring survived predation and the winter.

“The duration of the use of this management measure will be assessed through a multi-criteria analysis taking into consideration, among other things, the parameters mentioned and the deployment of other complementary management measures, such as predator control and habitat restoration,” the ministry explains.

Temporary captivity aims to protect caribou from predators and increase their survival rates. “This reflection demonstrates the ministry’s attention to deploying a dynamic and adaptive management approach that relies on monitoring the biological indicators of the Gaspésie caribou population,” the ministry states in response to our inquiries.


The Haute-Gaspésie receives support

The Côte-de-Gaspé MRC is supporting the Haute-Gaspésie by asking the Quebec government to hold information sessions and public consultations in Haute-Gaspésie due to the impact of the proposed caribou protection measures. The Quebec government announced a pilot project for the caribou population in April and the Haute-Gaspésie is concerned that recreational tourism development could be significantly restricted due to the proposed measures.

Côte-de-Gaspé is also calling for interim measures to be lifted and for the public service to be given clear directives so that sustainable development can continue. The MRC is asking that the wind energy sector and access to territories be taken into account.

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