(Montreal) Citizen groups in Pointe-Claire, west of Montreal, are asking the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, to prevent a real estate developer from destroying the Fairview forest and its wetlands, where at least 35 species at risk according to a new study.
Every week for three years, members of the “Save the Fairview Forest” group have demonstrated at the corner of Brunswick Boulevard and Fairview Avenue in Pointe-Claire, at the intersection that bridges the parking lot of a large shopping center and an urban forest of approximately 185,000 square meters.
“We have been protesting since November 2020, since we saw on the news that Cadillac Fairview wanted to develop all of the land in the forest, apart from a small plot. They want to concrete and asphalt everything,” said the group’s spokesperson, Geneviève Lussier, who took part in a press conference in front of Minister Charette’s Montreal offices on Tuesday.
At least 35 species at risk
During the event organized by the Heritage Fund for the Environment, the biologist firm TerraHumana Solutions presented a new study which identifies 35 species at risk in the Fairview Forest.
“This forest is a mature forest that includes at least three wetlands. We have identified more than 240 species of flora and fauna, 35 of which are at risk. […] such as the monarch butterfly, three migratory birds, including the Canada warbler and the wood thrush, and three species of bats, all endangered in Canada,” indicated the president of TerraHumana, Isabelle Anne-Buisson, adding that “it is very likely that biologists will find other species at risk in this forest, because they have not completed their data entry”.
The brown snake, an endangered species whose habitat in Quebec is found only in the Montreal region, was also observed in the forest which is also the habitat of the red fox.
A forest that is “like a museum”
Forest ecosystems are increasingly rare in Montreal and biologist Isabelle Anne-Buisson explained that the Fairview forest is a “relic of the natural ecosystems once present in the west of the island” and “that entering this forest , it’s like entering a museum.”
In an urban environment, preserving this type of “mature” natural space with a well-established ecosystem is “really essential for people’s health, biodiversity and the fight against climate change,” argued the biologist.
The spokesperson for “Save the Fairview Forest”, Geneviève Lussier, added that she “does not understand how, in 2023, we could afford to concrete over a place like that” when this forest “is the last natural space in one of the worst heat islands in Montreal.
Ministerial authorization
The forest is located west of Fairview Pointe-Claire and belongs to Cadillac Fairview, the owner of the shopping center.
In October 2022, the Ministry of the Environment issued a ministerial authorization to Cadillac Fairview allowing it to “fill in two wetlands for the expansion of a shopping center and the establishment of a housing development in Pointe -Clear “.
The cadastral number mentioned in the ministerial authorization corresponds to the Fairview forest.
The citizen groups who were present in front of the minister’s office on Tuesday argue that in light of the new study by TerraHumana Solutions, the minister must reverse this decision and prevent real estate development in this ecosystem.
“We cannot remain impassive when a developer has the red carpet rolled out to destroy our natural heritage and that of our children” and “we are asking the minister to cancel the authorization”, indicated Campbell Stuart, of the Heritage Fund for the environment.
In an exchange with The Canadian Press, Minister Charette indicated that he would take note of the TerraHumana study and that “the ministry will carry out appropriate follow-up regarding the potential impacts on the environment for the subsequent phases of the project.” adding that “the protection of biodiversity, and particularly of threatened and vulnerable species, is essential and in 2023, development projects must take this into account”.
Protect temporarily
Currently, an interim control regulation (ICR) issued by the municipality of Pointe-Claire pauses the granting of construction permits for new buildings in the Fairview Forest.
But the mayor of Pointe-Claire, Tim Thomas, explained that this protection is temporary, the RCI having been issued to give the municipal administration time to review its urban plan.
“We have to find a solution for the long term, and for me, the ideal would be to buy the forest to protect it,” he explained to The Canadian Press, proposing an “acquisition that could involve different governments “.
Cadillac Fairview, which owns several shopping centers across the country, is owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers).
In 2020, the company indicated to various media that it wanted to use the land it owns west of the Fairview Pointe-Claire shopping center to build a “new downtown” for the west of the island. .
The Canadian Press asked the company if those plans had changed since 2020 and if it intended to build residences and businesses in Fairview Forest, but the news agency did not get a response.