The federal government contacted Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) to express its “concerns”, as the corporation cut the vegetation of a fallow land that is considered a critical habitat for the monarch butterfly, but also for several dozen species of birds. However, Canadian law prohibits harming migratory birds and destroying their nests.
“Minister Omar Alghabra has already written directly to the CEO of ADM to express his concerns, request details on the next steps in this file and reiterate the urgency of the situation,” argued Tuesday. the minister’s office, in a written response to questions from the To have to.
“Our office does weekly follow-ups with ADM to learn about their plan and urge them to make progress on this file. Our government also plans to hold a meeting soon between the minister and the airport to discuss the situation,” added the cabinet.
You should know that Transport Canada owns the land, which is leased to Aéroports de Montréal. The terms of ADM’s lease include “environmental protection requirements,” the federal department said. “In this regard, ADM is required to ensure the protection of the environment on the leased premises and must comply with the environmental laws in force. »
Bird protection
One such law concerns the Migratory Birds Convention, Environment and Climate Change Canada said in a written response. It strictly prohibits “harming migratory birds and disturbing or destroying their nests or eggs anywhere in Canada”.
The fallow land that has been cut recently by ADM serves precisely as a habitat and nesting site for many migratory species protected by this legislation. However, “the regulations do not provide authorization or permits for activities, such as those put forward here, which may inadvertently kill or harm migratory birds, or destroy or disturb their nests or eggs “.
For the director general of the Society for Nature and Parks of Quebec, Alain Branchaud, it would therefore be necessary to go and inspect the site, in order to verify whether ADM has broken the law. “The convention on migratory birds is very strict and you can’t get around it,” he says.
Mr. Branchaud points out, however, that the monarch butterfly’s status as a “special concern” under Canada’s Species at Risk Act does not allow the federal government to intervene to protect its habitat. In this case, it would be a matter of preserving this important sector for milkweed, the only plant on which monarch caterpillars feed. However, the biologist affirms that as part of the management plan for this species, the federal government should “promote” the measures to be taken to preserve it, and this, with the various departments.
If the monarch butterfly is classified as a species of “special concern” under the Species at Risk Act, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada has classified this butterfly as “endangered” as early as 2016. C It is this committee of experts that assesses and designates wildlife species at risk of extinction in the country.
The status of “endangered” is the most severe before the outright disappearance of a species. This status provides a recovery plan that requires the federal government to identify and protect a species’ critical habitat. Several habitats could therefore be designated in Quebec, including possibly the “Champ des Monarques”.
” Lawn mowing “
Reacting on Tuesday, the office of Mayor Valérie Plante deplored the “mowing” carried out on the land rented by ADM. “The Champ des Monarques is extremely important for biodiversity and all occupants of the area are expected to take concrete action to ensure its protection. Last February, our administration protected land belonging to the City of Montreal in the southern sector of the Technoparc, and we expect our partners to follow suit. »
ADM denies having destroyed the habitat of the monarchs. In an email sent Monday to To have tothe airport authorities indicated that two weeks ago a “lawn mowing” was carried out “due to the presence of ragweed and long grass, which constitute a nuisance”.
“Our crews certainly did not ‘raze’ the ground, as alleged by some groups, but cut as is standard to do as part of normal airport site maintenance operations,” he said. said Éric Forest, Communications Advisor at ADM.
Aéroports de Montréal maintains that the site had few milkweeds and that the wetlands were not altered. “No sensitive species, no sensitive habitat or no protected area are present in this sector”, assures the organization.