Greater Montreal pledged on Saturday to protect 30% of its territory by 2030. A major challenge considering that the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) is the subject of several lawsuits after the adoption of a regulation intended to protect natural environments.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who is also president of the CMM, announced Saturday morning that Greater Montreal is committed to protecting 30% of its territory by the end of the decade. Currently, 22.3% of the territory of the CMM is protected.
The CMM’s announcement is all the more important as urban green spaces are losing ground across Canada. According to a recent study by Statistics Canada, green spaces in Montreal have decreased by almost 10% between the periods from 2000-2004 to 2018-2022.
“For 50 years, 70% of wildlife has disappeared on a planetary scale. It is enormous. We must therefore take strong, rapid and concrete action to reduce the threats to biodiversity by raising our objectives for the protection of green and blue spaces,” said the mayor at a press conference.
To achieve its objectives, the CMM has indicated that it “will take action on several fronts, in particular by continuing to finance projects for the acquisition of natural environments within the framework of the Green and Blue Infrastructure of Greater Montreal program, in addition to highlight “.
Several projects should materialize soon, including the acquisition of 25 hectares in the Bois Saint-François, in Laval, and the purchase of 19 hectares in the Boisé Sabourin, in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville.
The CMM also wants to set up a network of metropolitan parks by 2030. We hope to protect an additional 14,000 hectares, or 37 times the area of Mount Royal Park.
The creation of a river park on Sainte-Thérèse Island, expected by several environmental groups, is “on the way to being realized”, specified the CMM.
It should be noted that the CMM adopted two interim control regulations earlier this year to protect the natural environments on its territory. However, several lawsuits for “disguised expropriation” were filed by owners after the entry into force of the two regulations approved by the Quebec government.