PAGC questions absence of province at caribou workshop
The potential extinction of barren ground caribou is being discussed this week at meetings in northern Saskatchewan, but Prince Albert Grand Council’s (PAGC) Executive and Athabasca Denesuline Chiefs are questioning why a provincial regional biologist didn’t show.
The biologist was scheduled to speak at the Regional Barren Ground Caribou Workshop but pulled out at the last minute. PAGC Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte expressed his disappointment.
“Since we are one of the main stakeholders at hand, it was important to have the province attend this meeting in order to share knowledge and listen to the communities who will be most impacted by this change,” he said in a statement.
The leaders, including elders and community members, gathered this week to discuss the potential listing of barren ground caribou as “threatened under the Species at Risk Act.” Specialists from the federal and provincial government, as well as representatives from the Beverly Qaminirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB), were invited to present information.