Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault promised on Friday to protect federal lands leased by Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), including the “monarch field”, considered a habitat for this butterfly that the Trudeau government is on the point of classifying as “endangered”.
Asked about the request from elected officials and citizens who are urging the federal government to act to preserve the natural environments leased by ADM to Transport Canada, Mr. Guilbeault was formal: “It is my intention to do so,” he said. – he said, as part of a press briefing held within the framework of the UN conference on biodiversity (COP15).
The Minister recalled that the government launched consultations at the beginning of November with a view to adding the monarch butterfly to the list of species at risk. The Liberals therefore finally agreed with the opinion of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, which had recommended in 2016 that the moth receive this designation, the most severe status provided for by the Species at Risk Act before that of an “extinct” species in the country.
The listing, Guilbeault said Friday, “will oblige the federal government to protect monarch habitat, including on federal lands. I will therefore have additional levers to protect the monarch and its habitat over the coming months”.
Federal, provincial and municipal elected officials also asked the Trudeau government earlier in the day to take action to protect these lands, which are subject to a long-term lease between Transport Canada and ADM.
“Our urban wetlands and our urban fields are more than essential. They are oases for biodiversity, especially for the monarch butterfly, emblem of North America. We cannot afford to aggravate the biodiversity crisis. We expect a concrete gesture from Ottawa, and this, in front of the international community, “said Alan DeSousa, mayor of the borough of Saint-Laurent.
The spokesperson for Technoparc Oiseaux, Benoit Gravel, is not completely reassured by Steven Guilbeault’s remarks, especially since in a response to a federal petition demanding the protection of land located north of the airport, the Minister federal Transport, Omar Alghabra, recently claimed not to be able to act because of the long-term lease signed in 1992 with ADM. “There seems to be no communication between ministers’ offices. It seems that Mr. Alghabra does not speak to Mr. Guilbeault and vice versa,” underlines Benoit Gravel.
According to him, modifying ADM’s lease should not be an obstacle. Modifications to the lease, which is for a period of 80 years, would have been made in the past, he indicates. “Mr. Alghabra seems to let ADM do what they want on these lands even if ADM is a tenant. »
Technoparc Oiseaux claims the protection of a territory of 215 hectares, of which 155 are under federal jurisdiction, the rest belonging to the City of Montreal or to private interests. The “champ des monarches” covers an area of about 20 hectares.
Last summer, ADM razed the vegetation of the “monarch field” without having obtained authorization from the federal government. Environment Canada had also opened a “file” following this cut, but because of its potential impacts on the birds that nest in the area.
Under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, it is illegal to “harm” migratory birds. The land serves as a habitat, nesting site or passageway for more than 150 species of birds, including several migratory species protected by this law.
With Jeanne Corriveau