On Monday, Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Stephen Gilbolt said on his Twitter account that Canada is about to adopt an emergency decree to ensure the protection of the chorus frog, which has been created in the Longueuil region.
• Read also: Frog Protection Chorus: Suspension of Work Required in Longueuil
• Read also: Frog Protection Choir: Two organizations file a complaint against the Minister of Environment
Mr Guilbeault shared an excerpt from his statement, Monday morning, in which he said he would recommend to the Governor in Council “an emergency ordinance to protect the choir frog in the Longueuil region”, under the Endangered Species Act.
Remember that the tree frog has the status of threatened species in Canada and endangered in Quebec.
The news delighted the Center de Québec de l’Ouvernement (CQDE) and Société pour la Nature et les parcs (SNAP Québec) who filed a lawsuit against the minister in Federal Court on October 22, in order to protect critical habitats in the choir frog, where an extension of Boulevard was being built. Bellevue.
The two organizations also asked the courts on Monday to extend the suspension of work. What the City of Longueuil agreed before announcing the continued suspension of work on Boulevard Béliveau until November 22. A deadline that gives the new management time to analyze the file and decide on the next step.
Although this is a “great relief” for environmentalists, time is still running out for the tree frog,” said CQDE and SNAP Quebec.
The minister’s formal commitment to recommend an executive order, though late, is a relief. Combined with the temporary suspension of action ordered by Honorable Joelyn Puget of the Supreme Court of Quebec on October 29, this statement by the Canadian Minister of Environment gives hope that the species’ habitat will soon be adequately protected,” said Genevieve Paul, Executive Director of CQDE.
“With the second federal intervention targeting Chorus Frog in five years, we hope the Quebec government will finally recognize the need to update its own tools to protect threatened or endangered species. On the Longueuil worksite, authorities must intervene quickly to take corrective measures to ensure that the breeding is not compromised. Species are at risk in the spring of 2022, in particular by stopping wetland drainage,” noted Alan Branchwood, biologist and general manager at SNAP Québec.
Although satisfied with the recommendation of an emergency order issued under Section 80 of the Endangered Species Act, the two organizations hold that the order under Section 61 prohibits the destruction of an element of critical habitat for listed endangered species or listed threatened species located in a county or territory, other than federal lands, She will be the best too.
In particular to promote dialogue with the Government of Quebec in order to ensure adequate protection of the habitats of endangered species on its territory. The organizations also invited the Minister to seriously consider this option.
The two organizations also submitted three applications, one for each level of government.
At the municipal level, organizations are urging Ville de Longueuil to take the necessary corrective actions as soon as possible to stop the drying of the wetlands. They also asked the Quebec government to cooperate with the city of Longueuil to urgently implement these measures so as not to give up the Chorus Frog clone in the spring of 2022.
They then reminded the federal government of the need to speed up the formalization of the emergency decree.
