On April 15, one of the most renowned buildings in the world burned.
Notre-Dame de Paris is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its construction was finished in 1345.
It had survived the black plague (1347 to 1351), the Renaissance (1483 to 1595), the French Revolution (1789), France becoming a republic (1792), rein of Napoleon (1804 to 1816), World War I (1914 to 1918) and World War II (1939 to 1945)—and that’s just naming the bare minimum.
The cathedral is visited by over 14 million people each year and is regarded as one of the greatest monuments to Christianity in the world.
READ MORE: $1 billion raised to rebuild Paris’ Notre Dame after fire
Although it was not completely destroyed, the building requires extensive repairs. Within days, $1 billion was raised to help. Just like that.
Meanwhile, more than 7,500 kilometres from Paris in Revelstoke, arguably we have our own burning cathedrals.
According to the B.C. government, caribou in the province have declined from 40,000 in the early 1900s to less than 19,000 today. They are at risk of extinction.
At the caribou recovery feedback session at the community centre last month, we learned that the provincial and federal government had committed roughly $50 million to help caribou.
Some in the crowd audibly groaned and one lady stood up and said we should spend that money instead on health care and education.
READ MORE: ‘We’re concerned’: hundreds attend caribou meeting in Revelstoke
Last month, the province announced $70 million to upgrade 4.4 km of Highway 1 between Glacier National Park and Golden.
READ MORE: Upgrades coming to Highway 1 between Glacier National Park and Golden
We are spending $20 million more on improving 4.4 km of asphalt than on an endangered species. Of course, the $50 million does not include previous money spent on caribou or in other regions of Canada, which would be millions more.
However, total money spent on roads per year would be vastly beyond $70 million.
According to Canadian Encyclopedia, Caribou have been in North America for more than one million years. By comparison, the Smithsonian states that Homo sapiens emerged roughly 300,000 years ago. Caribou are far older than man.
If we are willing to spend $1 billion on a building, something we created, what’s the value of something we can never replace?
Once the caribou are gone, they are gone. Forever.
Even with repairs, Notre-Dame will never be the same. For example, French authorities have said they will never be able to replace the old growth wooden beams inside as there is no more similar old growth trees in France.
However, Notre-Dame will be saved, one way or another. Enough people care.
Of course, no matter the amount of money spent, caribou may never recover.
Regardless, how we act on caribou will set the ground work for how we will respond and how much we are willing to spend on the hundreds of other threatened/endangered species in Canada.
Perhaps if we had created caribou, we would be more willing to get out the cheque book.
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