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Have Your Say: Meltech in the Monarch fields

A lose/lose proposition with the reputation of the company, the airport and the Liberal Party likely to suffer

July 16, 2021

SUBMISSION TO ENVIRONMENTAL HEARING

Dear Friends at the Montreal Airport,

As a sometimes flyer, I appreciate the difficulty that the COVID restrictions and fear have caused to all airport facilities, particularly the pressure on your bottom line. It has been a trying time for many people and many sectors of the economy. At such a time, I imagine those in charge of airport finances are casting about looking for any way possible to generate some income to get you through this difficult period. However, if there is one thing we as a society have come to realize in this period of climate degradation, economic decisions can no longer be taken at the cost of the environment in general and threatened species in particular.

This of course brings me to the question at hand of the proposed destruction of natural habitat that you are proposing to hand over to for the manufacture of masks and other PPE. This must not happen. Many others have made the obvious case about the ecological damage wrought by such a project, particularly the threat to the iconic Monarch Butterfly habitat that Montreal has been blessed with. I think in your heart of hearts you yourselves realize that such a decision is wrong and can only be justified by manipulating environmental data and categories in a narrow technocratic fashion. Airport self-management is a public trust and the trusteeship over precious natural resources must not be violated as proposed in this case. This project is dependent on Federal Government largesse in terms of both access to the endangered land and public monies going to underwrite the corporate investment. Our current Federal Government has made maintaining the natural environment a high priority and has repeatedly campaigned on this basis. It would seem to me that this is a lose/lose proposition with the reputation of the company, the airport and the Liberal Party likely to suffer. Why not avoid this, take the ecological high ground and locate the plant somewhere else?

Sincerely
Richard Swift
235 Melville, Westmount, Quebec

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WestmountMag.ca or its publishers.


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