Environmentalists are divided on whether a new funding deal reached between Quebec and the federal government will help save the province’s dwindling caribou herds.
The executive director of environmental group SNAP Québec says the agreement announced earlier this week is a step in the right direction.
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Alain Branchaud says the deal signals an openness by the Quebec government to collaborate with Ottawa on caribou protection, which includes the province agreeing to publish reports on how it’s using the money.
But he says more action is still needed, as is compensation for Quebec logging communities whose activities would be disrupted by meaningful conservation action.
The agreement will see Ottawa send Quebec $25 million over five years for caribou conservation initiatives, as well as another $15 million to Indigenous communities.
Retired Université de Sherbrooke biology professor Marco Festa-Bianchet sees the announcement as a smokescreen that gives the illusion of progress while nothing concrete is done for caribou.
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