Federal environment minister gives Quebec May 1 deadline for caribou protection plan – Montreal [Video]

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has once again threatened to invoke federal powers to protect Quebec’s endangered woodland caribou.

Guilbeault said in a letter to his provincial counterpart dated Friday that Quebec has until May 1 to release its long-delayed caribou protection strategy and that if he concludes the animals are at risk of extinction, he is required to seek a federal decree to protect them.

The Quebec government had originally said it would release the strategy in June, before postponing the deadline to the end of the year. The province has still not released its plan.

“I am extremely concerned by the additional delays, taking into account the extremely precarious situation of this species and the need to quickly put in place concrete and ambitious conservation measures,” Guilbeault wrote.

Quebec’s woodland caribou population has declined as a result of habitat destruction, industrial activity and increased predation, with a provincial commission …