What will Quebec’s territory look like in 2050? Our journalists spoke to experts to imagine the possible avenues, and what can be implemented today to achieve this vision.
The cyclist of 2050 who sets out to visit the former industrial wastelands of eastern Montreal crosses a series of interconnected green spaces. Most of the 35 million square feet of land formerly contaminated by metals and hydrocarbons is now being remediated or is slowly being remediated thanks to the action of shrubby willows and poplars.
Along the multi-purpose path that it takes, the passer-by contemplates wild-looking parks, ponds, retention basins and stormwater management. Industrial zones focus on green technologies, the battery industry, smart logistics and the circular economy. The buildings have green roofs and are separated from other sectors by walls of plants.
Residential, commercial, sports and cultural districts on a human scale have begun to grow, but are only at the beginning of their development. Public transport stations, potentially the REM, are not far from there. Access to the river is provided near the port.
This vision is shared by many citizens, elected officials and organizations, if we rely on the results of public consultations, the intentions declared by the City of Montreal East and the Declaration to revitalize the east of Montreal of the Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal.
“It is important to see how to rehabilitate these industrial wastelands, supports the director general of the Regional council of the environment of Montreal, Emmanuel Rondia. These immense spaces can play an important role in the green and blue fabric of the territory, the fight against heat islands, our adaptation to climate change. It’s an opportunity to bring more nature to the city. »
Béatrice Gervais-Bergeron, doctoral candidate at the Plant Biology Research Institute of the University of Montreal, points out that soil decontamination also aims to prevent harmful substances from ending up in the St. reason for runoff.
Industrial land is neglected all over Quebec, but the east of Montreal is a unique opportunity in its magnitude, believes the director general of the Council of Environmental Technology Companies of Quebec, Kevin Morin. “It is logical to think that we will have rehabilitated these lands in 2050,” he says, since the companies he represents have the expertise to do so. He also believes that government plans and programs will bear fruit.
Far from the lip cup
The 2017-2021 action plan of the Quebec government’s Soil Protection and Contaminated Land Rehabilitation Policy provided for the investment of $120 million for land belonging to the State. However, this objective was only 50% achieved. Several other targets of this plan have not been achieved. The next action plan has still not been unveiled.
The assistance program for the rehabilitation of industrial land in the east, announced in 2019 and provided with an envelope of $ 100 million, has for its part been shunned by the private sector.
In addition, several economic players have ambitions for these lands that do not correspond to the orientations desired by citizens and elected officials. Elisabeth Greene, member of Mobilization 6600 Parc-Nature MHM, cites the container transshipment site project that Ray-Mont Logistiques wants to carry out in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. The fear of seeing Amazons and Costcos of this world settling there too could materialize.
What to do, then, for the desired scenario to come true? Emmanuel Rondia believes that the public authorities must take strong action now to protect certain places from undesirable uses, through regulations and zoning changes, land acquisitions and master plans.
Kevin Morin believes that certain changes to the program planned for Montreal would convince promoters to undertake costly decontamination work. For example, the sums could be granted in the form of a subsidy, confirmed before the work, rather than in the form of a 90% reimbursement.
Plants as a natural solution
While waiting for decisions to be made on the exact future of many plots, researchers at the Plant Biology Research Institute say it is possible to act on a large scale. Phytoremediation is the use of a specific selection of plants to capture contaminants in soil or water and remove them. Decontamination can therefore be done at very little cost, since it essentially involves planting, explains Joan Laur, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Montreal.
Mme Gervais-Bergeron explains that a test bench has been running since 2016 on four hectares of industrial wasteland in the borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, and is already producing results. The metals are found in the branches of the shrubs and are eliminated during the cutting. Meanwhile, nearby residents can benefit from this green space.
“It offers associated services, such as carbon sequestration, flood management, reduction of heat islands”, underlines Mme Laura.
The only downside is that phytoremediation generally takes time: it takes 20 to 25 years before the soil is clean. “It’s long, but the grounds are abandoned for a long time. You just have to start early, she says. Let’s imagine that there is a big movement and that we immediately set off to plant all the abandoned land. In 2050, there would be almost no more contamination. »