In these pages, the president and CEO of Ray-Mont Logistiques, Charles Raymond, responded Wednesday to an editorial by Marie-Andrée Chouinard. Stung, he denounced the “too negative” vision portrayed of his container transhipment project and denied that it had escaped a rigorous environmental and health impact assessment. These “attacks”, he said, are detrimental to the establishment of a “constructive dialogue” on the “harmonious” development of this sector of east Montreal.
In a response, the editor-in-chief of To have to only had to recall the facts: no examination by the BAPE, studies, of course, but no independent evaluation of the project, and the concerns expressed and reiterated by the experts of the Ministry of the Environment regarding the nuisances sounds during the approval of the project, on the sly, at the beginning of November.
As for the social acceptability of the project, Mr. Raymond, pointing out that his land is too contaminated to do anything with it, said despite everything that he understood “the value of the green spaces that certain citizens are asking for in the sector” and participated in the discussions. concerning the maximization of vegetation and the creation of a buffer zone between the land and the Viauville district. What about?
One snowy morning in November, Elisabeth Greene, Anaïs Houde and François “Renard” Plourde, committed citizens in the neighborhood, are waiting for me at the eastern end of rue Adam, at the entrance to a wooded path bordering the railway wasteland. from CN. On a modest banner hanging from the trees, we read: “Parc Nature MHM”.
The choice of this term, “nature park”, is not insignificant: it testifies to a vision carried by the citizens, a vision which breaks with the industrial fatalism which has always governed the development of this sector (where, in all transparency, I live).
This park is made up of a string of wooded wastelands, in a quadrilateral located east of rue Viau and south of rue Hochelaga. To the south of Sherbrooke Street, the lands are linked together by the railway wasteland, which ensures the continuity of the natural environments. The corridor also extends on the north flank, bringing together the wooded areas that run along the Molson Creek watershed — erased over time by urban development. On a map, the terrain of Ray-Mont looks like a concrete slab flanked in the middle of a fragile green archipelago.
François Plourde explains that to the north of Sherbrooke, the woods are protected, but that the flora of the wastelands and the woods to the south, which are not protected, are similar. “There are also surprises there that the other eastern woodlots don’t have,” he remarks, adding “that it would be easy to rehabilitate parts of Molson Creek, in the form of a marsh, since the stream still percolates underground. As soon as you dig, there is water”.
Rather, we backfill, asphalt, pull out, under the pretext that the soil is already spoiled. Decontamination is only done with a view to reindustrialization, so, of course, the dog bites its own tail. However, nature is stubborn: “We are told that there is nothing to protect here, says Anaïs Houde, but stop looking at a map and come and see! »
Residents carefully document the park’s flora and fauna. They have listed nearly 250 plant and animal species so far. Among the surprises mentioned by François Plourde, a large colony of gray birches, several species of poplars and varieties of willows, a colony of leopard frogs, more than 132 species of birds observed by amateur ornithologists.
“Most of these environments are in their first life cycles, but they are all called upon to transform naturally,” explains Mr. Plourde, who hates that people despise so-called “ordinary” natural environments. Obviously, the biodiversity of an environment disturbed and contaminated by a century of industrial activity is not extraordinary. Except that with time and care, the ordinary can become exceptional.
Above all, you have to see that here, humans are part of the ecosystem to be defended. This “nature park” is all the more alive as it is integrated into the life of a community. Did this community feel included in a “constructive dialogue” surrounding the deployment of the Ray-Mont Logistiques project? Elisabeth Greene speaks of a feeling of “complete opacity” at each stage of the project and of a clear tendency to present citizens with a fait accompli. The watchword seems to be not to agree to anything beyond what is imposed by law and regulation.
Along the railway wasteland, where Ray-Mont Logistiques containers began to accumulate, a container tower was flanked right in front of the windows of a coop, located less than 150 meters from the site. Coincidence or arrogance? The image is in any case striking.
Of course, the challenge goes beyond Ray-Mont Logistiques. It’s no secret: the sector is crucial for the extension of the activities of the Port of Montreal and is coveted for road development. Citizens are pitted against fierce economic interests. So we hold tight rein, we give just enough to defend the indefensible, but the line is clear: leave us alone with your “nature park”, it’s already nice that we tolerate humans installed in the legs Of the industry.
This is a completely anachronistic vision of urban development, shared by both industry and the various levels of government, with disregard for biodiversity and human communities. On the eve of the start of COP15 on biodiversity, while the main principles of the sustainable and resilient city are being trumpeted, we should be ashamed.