Caribou: Guilbeault dangles the prospect of big money and invites Quebec to negotiate [Video]

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has invited his Quebec counterpart to the negotiating table to reach an agreement on caribou before Christmas. He noted that the province could benefit from hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to protect biodiversity.

On Thursday, Minister Guilbeault sent a letter to the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, and the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Maïté Blanchette-Vézina.

In his letter, Guilbeault reiterated that his government is ready to implement “a collaborative approach, including federal funding” to protect the caribou.

Up to $465.8 million

“The government can make up to $77.8 million in contributions for boreal caribou available. This amount is currently earmarked for this purpose, but will have to be reallocated to other programs if no opportunities materialise in Quebec in the near future,” he wrote.

Guilbeault also said that he would like to negotiate an agreement on biodiversity, “for which Environment and Climate Change Canada is …