Photo: Adrian Wyld La Presse canadienne Le chef du Bloc québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, lors d’une conférence de presse à la fin de la session parlementaire, à Ottawa, le 19 juin dernier
Taunted by the Conservatives, a contingent of the Bloc Québécois led by the leader, Yves-François Blanchet, showed up in Ottawa in the middle of the summer season to ask the federal government to renounce its decree on the protection of woodland caribou, or at least to put it on hold until the fall.
“I think it is logical, even elementary on the part of the minister, to give at least until September 30 to the Quebec government before beginning its consultations,” the Bloc leader dropped Thursday at a press conference, surrounded by five of his MPs who traveled for the occasion.
This delay of a few months would be justified, according to him, by a recent judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec which requires that the Quebec government launch consultations with the First Nations for its caribou protection strategy.
Since the provincial strategy was already too late in the eyes of Ottawa, the Trudeau government unveiled a decree in June aimed at establishing exceptional protection measures for three caribou herds on the verge of extinction. This decree must, however, be preceded by 60 days of consultations.
Since then, the federal decree has been subject to constant attacks from the government of Quebec, the forestry industry, the Party Conservative of Canada, and now the Bloc Québécois, which called them “dramatic plans” of the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault.
Mr. Blanchet accuses the Montreal minister of being “a little ideological” and of making fun of the consequences for the industry by depriving it of 1.4 million cubic meters of wood per year (or 4% of Quebec's forest resources), as well as allowing the destruction of 37 lakes by the mining industry.
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Under fire from the conservatives
Conservative elected officials from Quebec spent the week not only denouncing the “job-killing” decree, but also alleging the complicity of the Bloc Québécois in putting it in place. “This federal decree exists because the Bloc voted to keep Justin Trudeau in power in 90% of the votes of confidence,” reasoned Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, in an exchange on the social network X.
His member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, Richard Martel, accuses the Bloc Québécois of refusing an emergency meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, where Minister Guilbeault and representatives of forestry companies would appear. “The Bloc has the power to organize these emergency meetings, but it refuses to get to work and covers for Justin Trudeau,” he accuses.
Yves-François Blanchet, shocked by the attack, claims on the contrary to be in discussions to organize this meeting next month. According to him, the conservatives want this meeting to focus on the “alleged threat to the woodland caribou.” Mr. Blanchet wants to remove the word “alleged”, to reflect the real threat weighing on the species.
He believes that a “calm, calm discussion and serious on the basis of knowledge and science” could lead to “paths of solutions” towards a compromise between the “extreme” positions of liberals and conservatives, environmentalist groups and industry, without the need of federal decree.
In a declaration sent to Devoir, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, indicates that he does not intend to lift his emergency decree until the Quebec government submits its own protection plan. “The Bloc Québécois only sees the tree and misses the forest. For ten years the federal government has trusted the words of the Quebec government, and it has failed to present a plan to protect and restore the caribou […]. »
Struggles in the region
The leader of the Bloc Québécois assures that he does not feel threatened by the popularity of the leader of the Conservative Party. The latter has made the Bloc Québécois his favorite target in French for almost a year, using hyperbole when speaking of a “Bloc-liberal coalition”.
Les Conservatives are targeting “a single county [in Quebec]: Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. They are trying to protect Richard Martel,” argued Mr. Blanchet, citing from memory the details of the latest polls placing his party in first place in Quebec.
In all other provinces, the Conservative Party of Canada is leading widely in the polls ahead of the next federal election, which must take place no later than fall 2025. In the meantime, a by-election must be called by the end of the month in LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, Quebec.
Even if it is not the “most accessible” riding for the Bloc Québécois in Montreal, Yves-François Blanchet warned his political opponents to “expect a strong presence and a hot fight from the separatists”.