Needless spat over protection of a tiny frog

The diminutive western chorus frog, just 2.5cm long and weighing just 1 gram, is the unlikely subject of a dust-up between the federal government and the provincial government of Quebec.

In a rare intrusion into the usually amicable relations between the two governments, Quebec's Ministry of the Environment is complaining that the federal Department of the Environment and Climate Change has overstepped its authoriity by issuing an emergency order under the Species at Risk Act, an order which effectively blocks part of a residential development in La Prairie, just south of Montreal.

The little critter has already lost 60% of its habitat in the region since the 1990s, and is considered in danger of complete extirpation within a decade or two, so there is little debate over the ecological need for the order. In fact, the Quebec government was already in the process of protecting 83% of area in question.

So, the spat is essentially just a rather childish, knee-jerk reaction to what Quebec sees as federal meddling in its business. You can almost hear the whine, "Aw, I wanted to do that!" The federal Liberals, for their part, maintain that, whatever the Quebec government decides to do on the issue, it was under a legal obligation to make the emergency order, which is my view is an entirely commendable observation of a law that the previous Conservative government (not known for its environmental commitment, to out it mildly) completely ignored.

Quite honestly, Quebec's record on the case to date has not been stellar, given that most of the frog's habitat has already bren lost to development, so I'm backing the feds on this one.