One of Montreal’s last remaining urban greenspaces is being evaluated for designation as a national urban park.
Côte Saint-Luc city councillor Dida Berku asked Canada’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault to protect 155 hectares of land north of Trudeau airport, in the form of a national urban park.
Near the end of September, Guilbeault sent the local politican and environmentalists hope in the form of his response.
“They’re asking Parks Canada to take a serious look at this. And I thought that was very reassuring. And that’s a move in the right direction” said Berku.
Calls to protect the area have been growing since June, when environmentalists were outraged to discover the Aéroport de Montreal mowed this land known as “monarch fields.” It’s a habitat they say is essential to the survival of endangered species.
“We were encouraged by that letter,” said Technoparc Oiseaux co-organizer Katherine Collin.
The co-organizer says it would be an amazing step forward, but the group is still advocating for the protection of the entire 215 hectares, which includes privately-owned land.
“These green spaces bring us services in terms of their cooling effect, in terms of our well-being of being able to access nature,” she told Global News.
More than 1,800 people have signed a federal petition, calling for the land’s park designation. Alexandre Boulerice will present it in the House of Commons next week. The Member of Parliament says the government has a precedent to protect the greenspace.
“The federal government did it with the park in Ontario in 2015. So if it can be done in Ontario like seven years ago, why not right now in Montreal?” said Boulerice.
In an email to Global News, the Environment Ministry says, “This site is indeed part of the sites studied for the establishment of an urban park in Montreal. However, consultations are ongoing and no decision has been made at this stage of the process.”
Meanwhile, for the Aeroport de Montreal’s part, a spokesperson says, “ADM will not comment hypothetical situations concerning a possible change of vocation for part of the airport site at YUL.”
Advocates say now is the perfect opportunity for the federal government to protect the land, while following through on its plan to create a network of urban parks across Canada ahead of the United Nations COP15 on biodiversity in Montreal this December.
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