The caribou is an iconic species for Canadians. It is at the heart of the boreal forest ecosystem and plays an important role in the culture and history of Indigenous Peoples. The Government of Canada is determined to work in collaboration with the provinces, Indigenous Peoples, and all stakeholders to protect and re-establish the caribou.
That is why the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, is visiting a number of regions in Quebec to meet and engage in discussions with Indigenous nations and other stakeholders about the collaboration required in order to protect the caribou and the progress made in the discussions with the Government of Quebec.
As part of the federal government's commitment to protecting the caribou, Minister Guilbeault is announcing $4.6 million in funding in 2022 to support five Indigenous communities in Quebec in their efforts to conserve the caribou and caribou habitat. Part of that amount will come from the $6.1 million announced as a result of negotiations with Quebec earlier this week, bringing the total funding directed to Indigenous organizations in Quebec for this purpose to $15 million since 2018.
Yesterday, Minister Guilbeault visited the Cree community in Oujé-Bougoumou. In addition, he met with the Syndicat des Métallos, a private-sector union, in Chibougamau to discuss protection of the caribou and sustainable forestry practices. He also visited the Chantiers Chibougamau tree-processing and building-materials complex and the Barrette-Chapais sawmill and wood-processing plant. Today, Minister Guilbeault is visiting the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Québec City regions, where he is meeting with representatives of three Indigenous nations: Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation (Innu of Mashteuiatsh), Innu of Essipit First Nation and the Wendat-Huron Nation.
The current status of the caribou is a stark illustration of the need for Canada and the rest of the world to slow and reverse the loss of biodiversity as quickly as possible. In December of this year, Canada will welcome the international community to Montréal during the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) on biological diversity. With its international partners, Canada will champion both the development of an ambitious global framework for biodiversity, including clear objectives and actions, and the important role Indigenous knowledge plays in our efforts to conserve and protect biodiversity and natural environments in Canada and around the world.
