The likely costs in terms of jobs and economic activity of conservation measures to protect the boreal caribou.

Since the addition of the boreal caribou to the threatened species list, the Quebec government has made considerable efforts to protect its habitat by limiting forestry companies’ access to the public forest. No one denies the need to have in place conservation measures for protecting biodiversity, as long as they have concrete positive effects and that the associated costs are not out of proportion with the goals. When it comes to the boreal caribou, though, these two criteria are not necessarily respected.

The natural resources sector's tax and regulatory burden.

The cost of a carbon tax.

Exploiting shale gas versus certain levels of risk.

Exploiting shale gas vs. certain levels of risk.

Economic growth and wealth creation vs. climate change.

The shale gas development debate from the point of view of landowners.

The possibility of developing shale gas in the St. Lawrence Lowlands caused quite a stir in Quebec between 2008 and 2012. In this public debate, the projects put forward for developing this resource did not pass the test of social acceptability. The voices of environmentalist groups, well-organized and omnipresent in the media, carried further than those of industry promoters. Between these two poles, there are also those who have natural gas wells on their land.

Safe transportation of oil.