The protection of the Fairview forest, a green lung in the heart of a residential district, is essential as an electoral issue in the linked city of Pointe-Claire, at a time when this natural environment is threatened by real estate pressure in this sector.
North of Highway 40, residential neighborhoods follow and resemble each other in Pointe-Claire and in the neighboring town of Kirkland. For the residents of these sectors, the Fairview Forest thus represents a haven of freshness and a shelter from the significant noise pollution emanating from the many road links that surround this 50-acre green space, which includes several hundred-year-old trees.
This forest, located near the future REM station in Pointe-Claire, currently under construction, could nevertheless suffer the repercussions of the real estate boom in this sector, fear the members of the group Sauvons la forêt Fairview. They organized a series of guided tours on Saturday morning in the heart of this green space in which several candidates in the municipal elections of Pointe-Claire and neighboring municipalities took part.
“When people walk in the forest, when they realize the biodiversity of the forest […] That makes all the difference. When we see what can be lost, that’s when it becomes much more real ”, notes the To have to the spokesperson for this group of committed citizens, Geneviève Lussier, met on the sidelines of this guided tour.
An electoral issue
Since 2013, this natural environment has belonged to the private developer Cadillac Fairview. The latter, who owns the huge shopping center that adjoins this forest to the east, wishes to carry out a huge residential and commercial real estate project over several phases in this sector. However, this forest has a mixed residential and commercial zoning. Many residents fear that a large part of it will eventually be razed to make this project a reality, which includes the construction of 5,000 residential units, the development of office towers and a retirement home, among others. .
The tension was even higher in the middle of the visit when the aspiring candidates for mayor of Pointe-Claire put forward their vision of the future of this forest. There are three of them running for the post this year, including the outgoing mayor, in office since 2017, John Belvedere. Interviewed at To have to Saturday, he assured that this forest “is not in danger”, since regulatory provisions in place in the City will protect “at least” 61%. “If we can protect even more, it will be even better,” he adds.
Ms. Lussier is skeptical, however. “We are still waiting for it to be officially written,” replies the activist, who recalls that the Quebec Ministry of the Environment has not yet submitted the report on which it is working concerning this forest and the possibility of protecting it.
“We have always asked that 100% of the forest be protected and that will not change,” insists the citizen. She believes that the City should change the zoning of this land to ensure its protection, even if it risks exposing itself to “lawsuits” from Cadillac Fairview, an original developer. many shopping centers and real estate developments in Canada and abroad.
“Urban planners believe that residential near public transport is environmentally friendly. But the problem is, how do you do that without cutting the forest? “, Raises for his part Mr. Belvedere, who wishes to find” the best solution for everyone “in this file.
“I am very skeptical,” replies one of his opponents in this race for mayor, Tim Thomas. “The compromise position [proposée par M. Belvedere] will not be acceptable in the face of the global climate and ecological crisis ”, launches the candidate. He thus says he wishes to save the whole of this forest, even if it means “halting certain developments”.
” A mission “
Lois Butler, one of the founding members of the Sauvons la forêt Fairview group, is also one of the candidates for mayor of Pointe-Claire. For her, the protection of this green space, “it’s not a platform, it’s a mission”.
“It is important for the well-being of our city, our population, our air. We cannot cut all the green spaces. We need it for health reasons, for the environment, ”she insists, while the noise of cars is deafening again on Boulevard Brunswick, at the end of our tour of this forest. Like Ms. Lussier, she is skeptical of Mr. Belvedere’s promise to protect most of this forest. This was formulated in recent weeks, in the midst of the electoral campaign, she notes.
“We’ve been asking questions for a long time [à ce sujet] during city council meetings. What annoys me is when promises fall like this in an electoral context. What will be the commitment after [les élections] ? »She asks. To know how she intends to ensure the protection of this forest if she becomes mayoress of Pointe-Claire in November, the candidate proposes to challenge in a “persistent” way Quebec and Ottawa to obtain their support in the protection of this natural environment.
“There is money on several levels [de gouvernement] », Raises Geneviève Lussier. The committed resident recalls, by way of example, that the City of Montreal succeeded in 2019 in obtaining a funding commitment of $ 50 million from the federal government to complete the purchase of land and protect green spaces in as part of its Grand Parc de l’Ouest project. Why not do the same for Fairview Forest? she asks. “It just takes the will of the City [de Pointe-Claire] She argues.
A spokesperson for Cadillac-Fairview was not available for comment on this matter on Saturday.