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Environmentalists, bird enthusiasts worry about future of land near Technoparc

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Technoparc development project worries environmentalists
WATCH: Technoparc development project worries environmentalists. Matt Grillo reports – Apr 14, 2017

Close to a hundred people gathered Friday to voice their concerns that the ecosystem near the Technoparc in Saint-Laurent will be affected if developers start building the area.

They argue the land is a natural habitat for birds and other animals.

READ MORE: Battle over wetland at Saint-Laurent’s Technoparc goes to court

“With all this construction and this extension of a boulevard and a new road and the dike, [it] will have an impact on all the breeding species that are nesting here at the moment,” said Joel Coutu, a bird expert.

Environmentalists say they are also concerned about the wetlands in the area.

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Friday, there were already several pipes and cement blocks onsite.

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Some activists in attendance insisted development should take place on land that has already been decontaminated, as opposed to tearing apart a natural habitat.

“There’s places where we can maximize and optimize developing without having to develop on green space,” said Craig Sauvé, Montreal city councillor for the Sud-Ouest borough.

“Developing on green space is the lazy way. It’s the cheap way, but it’s not the smart way.”

READ MORE: Sierra Club Quebec opposes any development to Technoparc Montreal marsh

The Green Coalition has called for an injunction to bring the work to a halt.

Saint-Laurent borough mayor Alan DeSousa told Global News he would not comment on the matter.

The director of real estate for the Technoparc was not available to comment on the future of the land.

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