Green Coalition hopes to
present plan to ministers

A practical integrated vision for Montreal’s last large unprotected riverine ecosystem

March 8, 2022

The Honourable Omar Alghabra
Minister of Transport

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Dear Honourable Ministers Alghabra and Guilbeault,

The Green Coalition is keenly aware of and appreciates the serious issues Cabinet is facing. We are writing to you now because we believe, as you do, that the environment is one of these major questions along with the extremely urgent problem of climate change.

Green Coalition would like to meet both of you, Ministers Alghabra and Guilbeault, in a virtual meeting to talk about the future of the Montreal wetlands and natural spaces in the Technoparc sector and adjacent federal lands, because we have an integrated vision that we think will help as Cabinet moves forward. The Honourable Clifford Lincoln, former Environment minister of Quebec, is an important part of our team and we are all eager to meet with you.

As you know, Technoparc Oiseaux and Green Coalition have been meeting with Madame Caroline Bourgeois of Montreal’s executive committee. And the most recent development in the wetlands issue has been the City of Montreal’s important step to formally rezone part of the Technoparc for “conservation”. The Montreal Gazette’s veteran reporter, Michelle Lalonde, has just written about this new development: montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-will-rezone-16-hectares-of-technoparc-to-expand-nature-park

Mairesse Valérie Plante wants to expand the protected area north of Montreal’s airport to 175 hectares and she has made her plans clear to citizens, and to you as well. We support this effort because Canada has already lost 90% of its urban wetlands. And, in the Technoparc sector and adjacent federal lands, we need to save the 215 hectares of irreplaceable wetlands and natural spaces from fragmentation and eventual destruction.

The Medicom Group’s decision not to build on the Monarch butterfly fields was a crucial moment in this process, one that is applauded by the general public.

Honourable Ministers, we want the federal government to succeed in its own vision for the natural environment. That is why we would like the opportunity to share a practical, integrated vision with you for Montreal’s last large unprotected riverine ecosystem that is home to a unique and exceptionally rich biodiversity.

Again, we are aware of how important this moment is, and want to wish you the best of luck. We think a virtual meeting at this time would be a really beneficial idea for everyone.

Sincerely yours,

Sylvia Oljemark, for Gareth Richardson, David Fletcher, Patrick Barnard and Clifford Lincoln

Feature image: Technoparc Wetlands swamp, Ilana Block

Read other articles about the Technoparc Wetlands

The Green Coalition – representing more than 80 citizens groups dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Environment. Founded in 1988.