Dozens of concerned Montréal residents flocked to the Technoparc in the Saint Laurent district on Sunday to alert elected officials to what they say is an urgent matter.
“The desperate need to protect these 215 hectares,” explained Katherine Collin, co-organizer of the protest.
They want to avoid any kind of development of the space that is just north of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport and includes federal and municipal land. It is made up of wetlands and, according to Technoparc Oiseaux, the conservation group that organized the protest, is home to more than 200 species of birds.
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“This is one of the last non-fragmented unprotected green spaces that we have on the island of Montreal,” said Collin.
Development is possible for more than 15,000 square meters of that space in a section called the monarch field. There are plans to build a facility to manufacture surgical masks. The protesters ask federal officials not to allow any development.
The land is owned by the federal government, but is leased to Aéroports de Montréal. Those who want to preserve space say that too many politicians have ignored the area, so now they want to make it an electoral issue.
“We hope this will resonate with the general population during the upcoming elections, both municipal and federal,” Green Coalition Vice President David Fletcher told Global News.
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Former Quebec Environment Minister Clifford Lincoln believes this proposed project is just the edge of the gap.
“If you let this project move forward, there will be others and others and then the ecosystem will disappear,” he said.
He added that he and others have reached out to different levels of government about the area, but so far there has been no response.
Emmanuella Lambropoulos, a member of the area’s liberal federal parliament, said she has been speaking with the group and understands the concerns.
“I know that the Montreal airport currently rents it out, so it is difficult to break a contract,” he said. “Then I understand why it has been taking so long.”
Those in the protest say, however, that it is time for the federal government to step up and protect the space.
In an emailed statement, Aéroports de Montréal said public consultations have just concluded and no decision has been made on the project.
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Reference-globalnews.ca