Since 1927 Labrador has been outside the jurisdiction of the province of Quebec, however current disputes over the border lines have made it clear that Quebec never officially accepted that original decision. Despite the use of clear boundary lines drawn on maps used throughout Canada for 80 years now, the two provinces have continued difficulty when it comes to legislation.

The most recent debates come of a wildlife project whose aims were agreed upon jointly by both Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. The project is essentially a migration tracking program for thousands of caribou, and although the program itself has not dredged up the border disputes, it seems that Quebec-produced maps outlining the trails have incorrectly drawn the border lines between the two provinces.

The maps, posted online at Quebec’s Natural Resources Department, have been drawn to include southern portions of Labrador within Quebec jurisdiction. Newfoundland and Labrador residents are not impressed, but they’re not surprised, either. “We’ve seen this over the years ? it happens time and time again” said John Ottenheimer, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs for Newfoundland and Labrador (CBC article).

Although no government ministers from Quebec wanted to stand up and make the situation clear, CBC heard from a Natural Resources official that the maps used were in fact the same used province-wide. As it happens, the Labrador minister noted the existence of several maps produced in Quebec that fail to delineate Labrador at all.

Seeing as how this is a small offense on the list as far as Quebec is concerned, maybe Labrador should be grateful at their existence on the map and chalk up the discrepancy to a simple misunderstanding. The two provinces are engaged in a positve joint wildlife project, which should take precedent over land disputes that at the moment are of no consequence.