Representatives of the Quebec Ministry of the Environment helped the City of Longueuil obtain authorizations to build a street that would destroy a protected habitat of the chorus frog, learned The duty. They explained to the City the procedure to follow to avoid an unfavorable opinion from government experts, since they concluded that the project would wipe out one of the last wetlands sheltering this endangered species.
Before extending Boulevard Béliveau by encroaching on an area designated as an “essential habitat” for the Chorus Frog, Ville de Longueuil had to obtain the green light from the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC ). It therefore first filed a “request for authorization”, which meant that experts from the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP) had to produce a “wildlife opinion”.
However, this scientific opinion was very critical of the project, designed to expand a residential sector. According to biologists, the new section of street would destroy “a critical crossing point” and “breeding habitats” of the species. It has already lost more than 90% of its habitat in Quebec, mainly due to urban sprawl. MFFP biologists have also invalidated the “wildlife passage” project planned by the City for the passage of amphibians under the street.
However, the MFFP’s wildlife advisory was not taken into consideration, since Longueuil withdrew its authorization request in order to submit a “declaration of conformity” instead. The responsibility then rests with the project promoter, namely the City of Longueuil, to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
The maneuver used here is shocking and raises serious concerns about the integrity of the authorization process.
According to information obtained by The duty, this change in strategy came after a meeting held on March 24, 2021 and attended by representatives of the City, but also two engineers from the MELCC. One of the engineers then explained that the authorization request risked “being delayed because of the fears of the MFFP” expressed in the wildlife notice.
In this context, the same engineer underlined that “the project could be the subject of a declaration of conformity, thus avoiding the approval of the MFFP”, one can read in a “summary” of the meeting. Although he works for a ministry whose mission includes “the conservation of biodiversity”, he explained to representatives of Longueuil that their project “meets the criteria to proceed with a declaration of conformity”. He also explained the steps to follow in submitting such a “declaration”.
This document must be presented in court on Monday. The Quebec Environmental Law Center will then try to obtain the extension of the injunction which made it possible to stop the extension work on Boulevard Béliveau, already almost completed. If the injunction is not extended, the machinery could resume construction on November 9.
Another document obtained by The duty confirms the steps taken by MELCC representatives. There is a declaration “under oath” from an employee of the City of Longueuil according to which it is a “representative” of the MELCC who called the meeting of March 24 to “discuss possible avenues” for the authorization of the project. street, following the wildlife advisory from the MFFP. “The representatives of the MELCC proposed to the City to counter this delay by filing a declaration of conformity in order to avoid the approval of the MFFP […] », We can read.
“Shocking” maneuver
For the Director General of the Society for Nature and Parks (SNAP Quebec), Alain Branchaud, this situation does not comply with the “mission of protecting ecosystems and endangered species” of the MELCC. “The maneuver used here is shocking and raises great concerns about the integrity of the authorization process. The minister must now use the powers conferred on him by the Environment Quality Act to suspend work, ”he argued on Friday.
“In any case, the MELCC did not suggest to the City of Longueuil to resort to a declaration of conformity in order to avoid the delays related to the wildlife notice”, replied the ministry. “The fact that the use of a declaration of conformity does not include conditions related to the opinion of the MFFP was rather mentioned in response to a question from the City of Longueuil, within the framework of a meeting which aimed, among other things, to present to the City the articles applicable to the declarations of conformity related to the extension of the waterworks, sanitary sewer and stormwater management systems that may apply to the Boulevard Béliveau project. “
From the federal government side, it has not been possible to obtain answers, despite several requests sent in the past few days. During the election campaign, Steven Guilbeault promised that the federal government would enforce the Species at Risk Act. In accordance with this law, Mr. Guilbeault has the obligation to recommend that the government issue a “decree” to stop the destruction of the habitat of the Chorus Frog. On Friday, there was no indication that he had made this recommendation.