An upcoming deadline regarding the boreal caribou draft recovery strategy has caught the attention of the La Ronge and District Chamber of Commerce.
That’s why it is taking the unusual step of inviting members of the public to one of its meetings tonight to hear a presentation on the issue by Saskatchewan Environment.
Chamber director Peter Clark says northern citizens only have until next Wednesday to make submissions to Environment Canada about the controversial strategy.
Critics of the strategy say it could seriously harm northern Saskatchewan’s economy and force the province to double its forest fire fighting budget.
Clark also doesn’t believe the federal department has done enough to underscore the seriousness of this issue in its correspondence with northern communities.
Clark says there appear to be legitimate questions about the methodology the federal department used in arriving at its conclusions in the strategy.
He says an Environment Canada official has said the government might be able to set aside some provisions in the current strategy that pertain to Saskatchewan, because of a lack of data for this province — but Clark says it wasn’t a guarantee.
Tonight’s presentation begins at 7:00 p.m. at the La Ronge Hotel and Suites.