The Legault government, which has been criticized for its lack of will to protect Quebec’s endangered wild fauna and flora, has decided to use the UN Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) to update the list of threatened or endangered species. Some, although considered endangered, have not been included. And Quebec does not currently plan to modernize the legislation that should make it possible to prevent their extinction.
The government announced Monday it would designate 27 new wildlife species in a vulnerable situation, 16 as threatened species and 11 as endangered species “to do more to protect wildlife” “to adequately protect and protect them.” to ensure their survival. This is the first species designation since 2009.
The chorus frog will thus move from the status of an “endangered” species, which it was assigned in 2001, to the stricter status of an “endangered” species. This amphibian has already lost more than 90% of its habitat in Quebec, mainly due to urban development.
The Legault government last year also authorized the destruction of one of the last wetlands inhabited by this species, in Longueuil, for the construction of a road. Officials from Quebec’s Environment Department even helped the city obtain the necessary permits. Ultimately, after legal action by the Society for Nature and Parks of Quebec and the Quebec Center for Environmental Law, it was the federal government that halted the project after the habitat was largely destroyed.
discarded species
The endangered species list, once updated, will also include new birds, insects and the brown snake, a reptile whose habitat has been largely destroyed by development projects in the Montreal area. Notably, the Legault government earlier this year approved a project in Laval that encroaches on a habitat for the species.
Quebec will also add the fin whale to its endangered species list. But two other whale species, the right whale and the blue whale, will not change status. They continue to be “probably classified as threatened or endangered”.
Under the federal government’s Species at Risk Act, the two whales are considered “endangered,” the most serious status prior to that of extinct species. The right whale, which numbers at most 340 individuals, is also the subject of exceptional conservation measures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence by the federal government following episodes of record mortality in recent years.
The migratory caribou, listed as “Vulnerable” by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) since 2017, has not been included on the Quebec government list. One of the herds in this population, the George River herd, has declined by 99% since the 1990s.
The woodland caribou, with several herds showing sharp declines and a total population of several thousand individuals in Quebec, also maintains its status as an “endangered” species. The latter could issue a decree to preserve the last remaining forests to allow the deer to survive. The Innu are also urging Quebec and Ottawa to take action to prevent certain herds from disappearing.
The Lacs des Loups Marins harbor seal remains on the list of species ‘likely to be classified as threatened or endangered’. This northern seal, the only population of its species that has adapted exclusively to a freshwater environment, has been listed as “Vulnerable” since 2007, according to COSEWIC. It would be a few dozen people at most.
Finally, two cod populations that have been classified as “Vulnerable” by COSEWIC for more than a decade retain “Likely Threatened or Vulnerable” status.
Refusal to modernize the law
“Updating the list of threatened or endangered wildlife species is a step in the right direction, but clearly falls short. In reality, these additions do not provide any additional protection for individuals,” laments the general director of the Quebec Nature and Parks Society, Alain Branchaud.
For example, Quebec legislation does not currently allow the Quebec government to intervene on private land to stop a project that would kill individuals of an endangered species. Mr Branchaud also criticizes the lack of additional species protection measures on public land.
“Quebec must quickly modernize the Respect for Threatened or Endangered Species Act and the Respect for Wildlife Habitats Ordinance if it is to help restore Quebec’s endangered wildlife species,” he added.
However, the office of Quebec Secretary of the Environment Benoit Charette refuses to make such a commitment. “We will continue our reflections with the various partners over the coming months on a possible modernization of the law. Reflections on next steps are ongoing,” his office said in a written response to Le Devoir on Monday.
By designating new species, the Quebec government promises to “encourage conservation initiatives,” “facilitate the adoption and implementation of recovery plans,” and “initiate legal protections of certain habitats of threatened or endangered species, where appropriate.”
“Quebec is making an important gesture in support of wildlife and biodiversity conservation with this intention. We need to speed up the designation of new species, so I also announce our intention to fill the three vacancies on the committee quickly [consultatif] on threatened and endangered wildlife species in Quebec,” Minister Benoit Charette announced on Monday.
The Legault government has also added 11 plant varieties to Quebec’s list of threatened or endangered species. The endangered species are all particularly sensitive to the impacts of human activities, which threaten their often very limited habitats.