WENDAKE, QC, June 21, 2024 /CNW/ - The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) is pleased with yesterday's meeting between representatives of several First Nations and the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, and would like to express its support and collaboration in the implementation of an emergency order to protect boreal caribou habitat in Quebec.

The AFNQL agrees with Minister Guilbeault on the Quebec government's inaction over the past several years, and on the need to take action to protect the caribou. The AFNQL considers the comments made by Benoît Charrette, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, unacceptable and aberrant, affirming that the Quebec government has multiplied its efforts and is more motivated than ever to act to protect this species.

According to Chief Picard: "It's absurd that Minister Charrette should make these comments when First Nations feel that his intentions are just the opposite. The Quebec government has done everything in its power to break its promises by delaying the publication of a complete strategy for the protection of woodland and mountain caribou and the implementation of the recommendations of the independent commission. This could be considered as a field of incompetence."

This attitude on the part of the Quebec government is highly problematic not only for the caribou, but also for the conservation of biodiversity in general. Indeed, the AFNQL is also very concerned that the Quebec government has been unwilling to collaborate with the federal government in its strategy to stop the loss of biodiversity, when all the other provinces and territories have contributed.

Faced with these failures from the Quebec government, the AFNQL is pleased that First Nations and the federal government are taking matters into their own hands together.

The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador is the regional political organization that brings together the 43 Chiefs of the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador. www.apnql.com 

Founded in 2000 by the Chiefs of the AFNQL, the mission of the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Sustainable Development Institute (FNQLSDI) is to work with First Nations to implement their vision of sustainable development. www.iddpnql.ca

SOURCE Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador