For Pointe-Claire residents, Fairview forest is a green oasis in the middle of the concrete jungle.
But it will soon be completely off limits. The owner, Cadillac Fairview, is fencing it off.
“We don’t understand what the symbolism of this fence is, does this mean that they’re building barriers with the community they’re not interested in having any conversations?” said Geneviève Lussier, a member of Save the Farview Forest, a group dedicated to protecting the green space.
Pointe-Claire Mayor Tim Thomas calls the move unfortunate.
“It’s a message I feel of intimidation, that here, this is what we’re going to do, that we can do this and unfortunately it will trap animals in the forest and it will probably cause harm to the habitat of the forest,” Thomas told Global News.
The forest had been off limits for some time now and Lussier says people have respected the signs.
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Regardless, Cadillac-Fairview requested a city permit to install the fence around the green space.
The city says the project complies with local regulations.
“They had applied for a permit to build a fence around the entire forest last year and had plow machinery into a mature part of the forest which was against the bylaw,” Lussier alleges.
Lussier says she fears it will happen again.
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Cadillac Fairview has plans to build what they’re billing as the downtown of the West Island.
There will be a REM station nearby.
For more than two years, Lussier and her group have been calling for the protection of the forest.
Now, they want other levels of government to step in.
“We’re in a climate crisis, we cannot be deforesting areas like this,” Lussier explained.
Cadillac-Fairview did not respond to Global News’ request for comment by deadline, neither did the Quebec Ministry of Environment.
Meanwhile Lussier vows to keep fighting to save the forest, she believes it should ultimately be purchased from its current owner and turned into a public park.
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