Technoparc: a huge step forward towards protection

Green Coalition salutes the efforts of various municipalities and their organizations

Montréal, Septembre 26, 2022

The Green Coalition wants to recognize and celebrate a huge step forward in the Technoparc file by the City of Montreal, the Montreal Agglomeration Council and the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM).

Following the uncontrolled mowing of thousands of milkweed plants in the Monarch Fields, 14 different municipalities and boroughs on the island of Montreal, as well as the City of Montreal itself, took up the cause of the Monarch butterfly, a species declared threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and whose reproduction depends on milkweed.

Most recently, on 22 September, the Agglomeration of Montreal, following Montreal and other jurisdictions, adopted a formal resolution:

“THAT the Government of Canada recognize the ecological value and biodiversity of the lands owned by the federal government (“federal lands”) north of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, namely lots 3, 4 and 5 located in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the City of Montreal, as well as the lands commonly referred to as the Dorval Golf Course, including the Monarch Butterfly Fields, located in the City of Dorval, all of which are leased to the Aéroport de Montreal (ADM);

THAT the Government of Canada, through Transport Canada, notify and require ADM to immediately cease all development on these lands;

THAT the Government of Canada, in keeping with its stated objective of creating or contributing to the creation of an urban park in Quebec by 2030, ensure the preservation and conservation of these federal lands in perpetuity for future generations;

THAT the Government of Canada work with the City of Dorval and the borough of Saint-Laurent of the City of Montreal to secure these lands as a legacy for future generations and as an important part of the urban park network on the Island of Montreal…”

The Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) has added the Dorval Golf Course, adjacent to the Monarchs Fields, to the list of golf courses protected under an interim control bylaw (ICB). Both Golf Dorval and the Monarchs Fields are part of a 215-hectare wetland and riparian ecosystem, consisting of wetlands, forests, meadows and marshes, located north of Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

The City of Montreal, the Agglomeration, the CMM and various municipal jurisdictions are now officially telling the Government of Canada what to do. It owns most of this ecosystem. It can and must, in the words of this resolution by the Agglomeration and the City of Montreal, use its authority for “the preservation and conservation of these federal lands in perpetuity.”

The Government of Canada has made many promises about the environment. Now is the time to act, to be consistent. Canada has the power to save this 215 hectare ecosystem north of Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

The Agglomeration of Montreal, the City of Montreal, the CMM and the municipalities and boroughs speak with one voice.

Canada – save this irreplaceable ecosystem!

For more information:

David Fletcher: fletcherdavid@me.com • 438 526-7684
Patrick Barnard: pbarnard@videotron.ca • 514 463-0573

Feature image: Patrick Barnard

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