A coalition of local environmental groups is pressuring the owner of land adjacent to a popular provincial park just off Montreal Island to sell the land to the province so it can become part of the park.
The Coalition for the Protection of ÃŽle Charron told a news conference Saturday the province has offered Investissement Luc Poirier double the $6.2 million the company paid for the 20.4 hectare piece of land on the island in 2006. According to the coalition, the offer was refused.
Officials at Investissement Luc Poirier could not be reached for comment.
More than 20,000 people have indicated their support in an online petition calling on the government to protect ÃŽle Charron and make it part of the Boucherville Islands provincial park, which is made up of six small islands in the St. Lawrence River.
“That was a clear message from the people that was heard by the government. We hope the current owner will also hear that message and do the right thing: cede his land at a reasonable price for the greater good,” said Coralie Deny, director of the Conseil régional de l’environnement de Montréal.
The province has put a reserve on the land that expires next October. The developer had planned to build 2,500 condos on the site, which is part of Longueuil.
“The city of Longueuil should encourage Investissement Luc Poirier to accept the government’s offer,” said Rémi Arsenault, president of Les Amis du parc national des ÃŽles-de-Boucherville.
“Longueuil should state loud and clear that it does not want a housing complex built on this part of its territory.”
The coalition says building a housing complex so close to the existing conservation area would threaten the park’s fragile ecosystem.
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