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Quebec Minister for Forests, Wildlife and Parks Responds to Presidential Letter Regarding the St. Lawrence Beluga Whale

31 August, 2014

Mrs Marsh,

On behalf of the minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, we answer your letter underlining your concern about the threats to the St. Lawrence beluga whale population linked to the proposed Cacouna Harbour. Our government is effectively aware that this isolated population is threatened.

In Québec, beluga management is under the responsibility of the federal government and, as stated in your letter, the St. Lawrence beluga population is listed as threated under the Species at Risk Act (SC 2002, c.29). Furthermore, the government of Québec also acknowledges the precariousness of this population and has also listed as threated under the provincial Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species (CQLR, c. E-12.01; Loi sur les espéces menacées ou vulnérables).

In Québec, wildlife habitats of listed species can be protected by another provincial law, the Act respecting the Conservation and Development of Wildlife (CQLR, c. C-61.1; Loi sur la conservation et la mise en valeur de la faune) providing that the habitat characteristics are defined in the Regulation respecting threated or vulnerable wildlife species and their habitats (CQLR, c. E-12.01, r.2; Réglement sur les espéces fauniques menaceés ou vulnérables et leurs habitats). Considering that the St. Lawrence beluga habitat has not yet been defined in this last regulation, our Ministry has no legal power to intervene for this species within the framework of the proposed harbour in Cacouna.

However, the environmental impact and assessment framework of the Environment Quality Act (CQLR, c.Q-2; Loi sur la qualité de l’environement) allows our Ministry to emit a notice describing protection measures that should be respected to protect the species. During this process, we make sure to obtain the best information available and, in the case of the federally protected beluga population, we make sure to contact experts at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Lastly, we have to underline that our Ministry is actively involved in the beluga Recovery Strategy, notably by his participation to the federal recovery team, and is also involved in the Québec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network.

Please be assured that we support your concern for the St. Lawrence beluga population and that we are aware of all the efforts deployed to protect it.

Sincerely,

Deputy minister associated with Wildlife and Parks,

Nathalie Camden

Édifice Boi-Fontaine, RC 120
880, chemin Sainte-Foy
Québec (Québec) G1S 4X4
Teléphone: 418-627-8658, poste 7285
Telécopier: 418-644-9727
Internet: www.mffp.gouv.gc.ca
Courriel: nathalie.camden@mffp.gouv.qc.ca

Ottawa Prime Minister Responds to Presidential Letter Regarding Cacouna Harbour and Belugas

The Society for Marine Mammalogy received the following response from the Office of the Prime Minister in Ottawa regarding our June 17, 2014 Presidential Letter concerning Cacouna Harbor and the St. Lawrence beluga whale habitat

July 11, 2014

Dear Ms. Marsh:

I would like to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence of June 17 addressed to the Prime Minister regarding Cacouna Harbour and the St. Lawrence beluga whale habitat.

Please be assured that your commments, offered on behalf of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, have been carefully reviewed. I have taken the liberty of forwarding copies of your correspondence to the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport and the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. I am certain that the Ministers will appreciate being made aware of your views, and will wish to give them every consideration.

Thank you for writing to the Prime Minister.

Yours sincerely,

P. Monteith

View a PDF of this response to our Presidential Letter

Québec Premier Responds to Presidential Letter Regarding Cacouna Harbour and Belugas

The Society for Marine Mammalogy received the following response to our June 17, 2014 Presidential Letter concerning Cacouna Harbour and the St. Lawrence River beluga whales from the Premier of Québec:

June 23, 2014

Dear Ms. Marsh:

On behalf of the Premier of Québec, Mr. Philippe Couillard, I acknowledge receipt of your email dated June 17, 2014 concerning Cacouna Harbour terminal project which involves construction of facilities for the export of crude oil in tankers that would travel into and out of the St. Lawrence River estuary. Thank you for taking the time to write.

Rest assured that we have taken your comments into account. The matter is now in the hands of the Mr. David Heurtel, minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change to address the question appropriately.

Sincerely yours,

Vanessa Gosselin
Political attachée

View the Letter as a PDF

Presidential Letter on Cacouna Harbour Project and Beluga Whale Endangerment

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

Monsieur Philippe Couillard
Premier ministre du Québec

The Honourable Gail Shea
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

Monsieur Laurent Lessard
Ministre des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs

Monsieur David Heurtel
Ministre du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques

Dear Sirs and Madame:

The Society for Marine Mammalogy is the world’s largest professional group dedicated to the study of marine mammals, with a membership of approximately 2,000 scientists from 60 countries. Its goal is to facilitate the understanding and conservation of marine mammals and the ecosystems that support them.

The Society is very concerned about the proposed Cacouna Harbour terminal project which involves construction of facilities for the export of crude oil in tankers that would travel into and out of the St. Lawrence River estuary. Cacouna Harbour is near the center of what government scientists have defined as “critical habitat” for a beluga whale population that is listed as Threatened under the Species at Risk Act (Department of Fisheries and Oceans 2012). To be more exact, the site is within one of the few well-defined areas of high residency of female belugas and their young (Lemieux Lefèbvre et al. 2012).

St. Lawrence belugas are the most southerly population in the circumpolar range of this iconic species, which is of particular symbolic and economic importance to Quebec and to Canada. This population has been studied by researchers from Canadian universities, government agencies, and environmental organizations over a longer period of time than any other beluga population in the world. All of this is to Canada’s credit, as is the fact that the St. Lawrence beluga population, which had declined to only a few hundred animals in the 1970s as a result of hunting and environmental degradation, recovered to around 1,000 by the late 1990s.

Unfortunately, it seems that this encouraging example of environmental stewardship is now in jeopardy. Recent research by Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) scientists indicates that the beluga population has been declining slowly since the early 2000s (Department of Fisheries and Oceans 2014). Although the reasons for this change in trend are uncertain, the recent DFO Science Advisory Report (Department of Fisheries and Oceans 2014) notes that it occurred during a period coinciding with increased noise and marine traffic, and also that these animals continue to suffer from high levels of contaminants. The DFO report draws attention to the need to reduce anthropogenic stressors such as disturbance in sensitive areas and during critical periods for female belugas and their calves.

Members of our Society with extensive experience in beluga biology and conservation consider that construction and operation of a tanker terminal in the critical habitat of a small and declining beluga population is incompatible with the aims of the Beluga Recovery Strategy (DFO 2012). Such a project is bound to have serious impacts on the suitability of the area for use by female belugas and their calves. It will further degrade the physical and acoustic environment, increase the risk of ship strikes on belugas, and possibly also reduce the availability of beluga prey; the possibility of a catastrophic oil spill is ever-present. These stresses may well prove to be too much for a population already considered threatened with extinction under Canadian law.

Given the strong scientific capacity at DFO and elsewhere in Canada, I encourage you to take full advantage of these enviable resources as you make decisions concerning this high-risk, controversial proposal. As with any such major project, scientific advice from relevant specialists should be obtained at every stage as part of a transparent consultation process. This advice should apply equally to preparatory work such as geophysical seismic and geotechnical drilling surveys that could have deleterious impacts on the beluga population, as well as to the overall assessment of potential impacts and consideration of alternative sites and mitigation measures.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like further advice from Society members with appropriate technical expertise.

Sincerely,

helene-marsh-sig
Helene Marsh
President

Read acknowledgement of receipt and response on behalf of the Premier of Québec received 23 June 2014

Read acknowledgement of receipt and response on behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister of Ottawa received July 11, 2014