Winnipeg, May 13, 2019 – The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) welcomed a special guest to its 87th meeting on May 1 – the Honourable Rochelle Squires, Manitoba Minister of Sustainable Development.
In her remarks, the Minister acknowledged the Board’s successful work of coordinating the management and conservation of two barren-ground caribou herds since 1982. “The work you do for the shared management of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds is a model we are hoping to emulate in the Province of Manitoba,” she said to the group, which included BQCMB members, guests and observers from Nunavut, Northwest Territories, northern Manitoba, and northern Saskatchewan.
She also promised Manitoba would reinstate its 2012 commitment to provide annual operating funding to the Board. “Manitoba has made the decision to be a full partner with the funding commitment from the Province of Manitoba. I’m here today to let you know we will be a full contributor on a go-forward basis.‘’
The BQCMB met with Minister Squires last fall, where Chair Earl Evans described some of the challenges facing the herds and explained the need for complete support from all five government parties, including the Province of Manitoba.
The BQCMB followed this up with a similar discussion with Deputy Minister Lin Gallagher of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment in March 2019. She indicated Saskatchewan would also meet the full amount of its funding and member support commitments.
The Board hopes these developments point to a renewed commitment to the BQCMB for both operational funding and necessary support for all members to attend each bi-annual Board meeting. Both are stipulated in the Board’s Management Agreement. “We haven’t been able to meet in Nunavut for 14 years due to difficulty obtaining out-of-province travel approvals for Board members from Saskatchewan and Manitoba,” Evans noted.
With the BQCMB’s 2012-2022 Management Agreement set to expire in less than three years, the Board is now looking for confirmation of support for the next 10-year Agreement. Evans anticipates that all governments and community partners will see the value of continuing to support the BQCMB.
“With both herds declining, we have to be more vigilant than ever to ensure the important cultural, spiritual and economic relationship between northern peoples and barren-ground caribou are protected,” he stressed. “Buy-in from all governments is essential for this Board to do its job so that Indigenous people who depend on these herds will have access to them for generations to come.”
