Protection of wetlands | A new plan to turn things around in Laval

After being one of the worst students in the class when it comes to protecting wetlands, Laval wants to reverse the trend. The City is committed to creating or restoring the equivalent of 120 Olympic swimming pools over the next 10 years.

Eric-Pierre Champagne
The Press

Ville de Laval adopted its regional plan for wetlands and bodies of water on Wednesday, in which it undertakes to create or restore 15 hectares of wetlands on its territory by 2032. The plan will be sent to the Ministère de l’Environnement et for the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC), as provided for in the Act respecting the conservation of wetlands and bodies of water.

Laval has already identified several sites for projects to create or restore wetlands over the next few years, including the shore of Plage des Îles, Carré Laval and a section upstream of Ruisseau la Pinière. The municipality says it relies in particular on the State’s Environmental and Water Domain Protection Fund to finance these projects.

The fund is made up of sums collected by the MELCC from promoters who pay financial compensation when they are authorized to destroy wetlands.

It was put in place in 2017 with the adoption of the new law on wetlands. This aims to put an end to decades of abuse that have destroyed huge areas across the province, particularly in Greater Montreal.

Between June 2017 and June 2021, Quebec authorized the destruction of 11.9 km^⁠2 of wetlands in exchange for financial compensation totaling $74.9 million. In Laval, during this period, the MELCC allowed the destruction of 14.5 hectares in exchange for $9.9 million.

“Smart plan”

Laval has long been a bad student when it comes to protecting wetlands. Since 2004, the equivalent of just over 107 football fields have been destroyed on its territory due to various projects authorized by the Ministry of the Environment. Residential and industrial construction is responsible for more than half (56%) of these disruptions.

However, the trend slowed down considerably after 2014. The City still anticipates losses totaling an area of ​​10.9 hectares for the next 10 years, which would nevertheless be offset by the creation or restoration of 15 hectares of wetlands by 2032.

“This is a smart plan that will strengthen biodiversity and fight climate change, in addition to improving the connectivity of our natural environments and enhancing the quality of our shores,” said the mayor of Laval, Stephane Boyer.

“We are pleased that the City [de Laval] lent itself to the drafting of this plan within the time allowed by the MELCC and relying on the expertise of Laval environmental organizations for its design”, reacted Elodie Morandini, Director General of the Regional Council for the Environment of Laval. .