Consultations on the whales that are eyebrow-raising

Photo courtesy D. Claus

QMI agency

Wednesday, August 9, 2017 12:24

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Wednesday, August 9, 2017 12:24

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OTTAWA – The body, Nature Québec calls into question the relevance of procedures launched on Tuesday by Ottawa to save the whales as endangered in the gulf of St. Lawrence.

“The right whale will not stop dying during the consultations!”, launches from the outset the patron of Nature Québec Christian Simard.

Since the beginning of the summer, a real hecatomb strikes to right whales, while a dozen specimens have been found dead in the gulf of St. Lawrence.

To cope with the crisis, Ottawa on Tuesday launched a consultation on the internet to get the opinion of the canadian people about the topic.

In addition to ask how these consultations will be useful, Nature Québec is concerned that these act as a “pretext to postpone the taking of measures already urgent”. Measures that are “known and applied since long time by scientists”, such as the creation of marine protected areas, specified by the organization.

For its part, the federal government says have the scientific data necessary for action, but that consultations on the internet, are required to obtain the collaboration of the population and experts.

Mr. Simard is also questions about the seriousness of the approach of governments to protect the marine fauna, while a development project that would double the shipping traffic on the St. Lawrence near a shelter for beluga whale is in the study.