Premier Jean Charest's commitment demonstrates a balance between conservation and economic development. The announcement ensures the protection of continuous tracks of land large enough to support such species as the caribou.

Other provinces may be following suit. A new voluntary team of scientists called the International Boreal Conservation Science Panel is working to protect Canada's boreal forest. The panel hopes Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta will follow Quebec and Ontario's example.

The boreal forest stretches from Newfoundland to Alaska and is essential in the fight against climate change. Acting as a carbon sink, the area now holds 186 billion tonnes of carbon, equivalent to 27 years worth of global carbon emissions. It also holds massive reserves of freshwater and healthy populations of wildlife in fully functioning ecosystems.