Montreal intends to multiply by five the surface area of the Parc-nature des Sources, in the Technoparc, a site recognized for its wildlife and ecological wealth. The perimeter that the City wishes to protect includes the Dorval golf course and the “Champ des Monarques”, but many lands still belong to private owners and the federal government.
The executive committee will be called upon to approve, on Friday, a by-law that would increase from 39 to 219 the number of hectares of the Sources nature park, which is located on the territories of the borough of Saint-Laurent and the city of Dorval, north of the Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau airport. “For us, it’s major”, indicates to the Duty Caroline Bourgeois, head of large parks on the executive committee. “The delimitation gives us the tools to be able to discuss with the owners of the land with a view to potential acquisitions. »
In February 2022, the City announced that it would protect 16 hectares of green space belonging to it in the Technoparc sector, including the lands of the Éco-campus Hubert Reeves and the IPEX marsh, by granting them a conservation designation.
However, the administration wanted to go further, to protect a larger sector of the Technoparc which is home to more than 200 species of birds. During the 2021 election campaign, Projet Montréal had also promised to expand the nature park in order to protect 175 hectares.
The new 219-hectare perimeter, which exceeds the area of Mount Royal Park, notably includes the Dorval golf course, which covers a little over 80 hectares, as well as the Monarch field. These lands are both owned by the federal government.
The scope, however, excludes the land on which the company Hypertec intends to build its headquarters, a project that worries environmental groups. “We are continuing discussions with them. Our objective is very clear: it is to make significant gains in conservation. But as owner, [Hypertec est] as of right”, explains Caroline Bourgeois.
Ongoing Discussions
Many steps remain to be taken before these lands can be protected from any development since the by-law does not modify the zoning of the lots and the City does not own the entire site. “But it gives us a right of first refusal which can be important in the event of a real estate transaction and, above all, it clarifies the intentions of the City as regards the protection of these spaces,” said the elected official.
In the meantime, discussions are continuing with the federal government on the subject of the monarchs field in particular. Last December, during COP15, which took place in Montreal, the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, promised to protect federal land leased by Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), including the Monarques field.
Recall that the monarch field made headlines in July 2022 after ADM mowed the land which contained thousands of milkweed, a plant essential to the diet of monarch butterfly caterpillars.
Ultimately, however, the City’s resources are not unlimited in terms of purchasing land for their protection. Caroline Bourgeois points out that in the City budget, the Plante administration has reserved approximately 270 million over 10 years for the acquisition of natural environments. However, this amount must be used for the entire island of Montreal, not just for the Technoparc.
“It brings us to collective responsibility for the preservation of natural environments. Cities have limited power. To what extent do Montreal taxpayers have to assume [les coûts de] the protection of natural environments? Hence the importance of the collaboration of owners and governments,” she says.
worries
The city’s project is an “important” step in the right direction, says Katherine Collin, of the citizen organization Technoparc Oiseaux, which has been campaigning for the protection of this territory for years. “It is a jewel for biodiversity. »
But the City’s by-law is not an end in itself. “We still have great concerns about companies such as Hypertec moving into the heart of this sector. We want this company […] choose to build elsewhere,” she says. According to her, a site with a parking lot not far from Hypertec’s land would be more appropriate for the company’s project.