(Ottawa) Don’t look for Quebec’s contribution to the federal government’s new strategy to curb the loss of biodiversity in the country. All provinces and territories provided their plan as an appendix to this voluminous document unveiled Thursday, with the exception of the Quebec government.
Posted at 10:33 a.m.
Updated at 3:40 p.m.
“Quebec has decided not to provide information for this strategy, considering that it is the sole competence of the Quebec government, which is archival,” lamented the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault.
“We’re all working together on this. There is no one on the planet who says I’m going to do this alone in my corner in isolation. We have to work in partnership, so I find it a little disappointing that the Quebec government decided not to participate like all the provinces, territories and indigenous peoples. »
Minister de Guilbeault tabled a bill and unveiled a strategy Thursday to curb the decline of biodiversity in the country. Canada thus becomes the second country in the world after Chile to propose legislation to respect its obligations under the historic agreement concluded during the 15e United Nations conference on biodiversity (COP15) which took place in Montreal a year and a half ago.
The tabling of Bill C-73 comes as the Legault government has decided to once again postpone the adoption of caribou protection measures, as reported by La Presse on Wednesday. It extends the consultation on the pilot projects announced in April until October 31, which exposes it to intervention by the federal government. Ottawa had given Quebec until 1er May to present a concrete plan without which he threatens to impose caribou protection measures unilaterally by decree.
“The Quebec government has broken its own promise it made to Quebecers,” said Mr. Guilbeault. This caribou strategy has been promised by the Quebec government since 2016.” The Quebec government signed a letter jointly with Ottawa in 2022 where it committed to protecting 65% of critical caribou habitat, he said. -he recalled.
The bill on responsibility for nature provides for the development of a country-wide strategy and action plan to protect biodiversity. There are reporting mechanisms, such as the production of progress reports, to measure the progress of the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Independent experts will need to contribute to national strategies and reports. The minister must also take into account indigenous knowledge regarding biodiversity and respect the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The 2030 Nature Strategy is based on six pillars, including recognizing their rights. It also highlights the link between economic prosperity and “a healthy environment”.
Around one million species are already threatened with extinction, according to the United Nations. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework identifies 23 targets including protecting “at least 30% of terrestrial areas, inland waters and coastal and marine areas” by 2030.
The federal government has already signed three agreements with one province and two territories – British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories – to achieve this goal across the country. Minister Guilbeault has not lost hope of concluding one with Quebec, which had made a commitment to protect 30% of its territory last year.
“I still wish,” he said in an interview. I think it is in all of our general interests to work together. »
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework also provides for a fund for developing countries of $20 billion per year by 2025 and $30 billion by 2030.
With Jean-Thomas Léveillé, The Press
