The real influencers | Marathoners of Change

(Edith Cyr and Louise Gratton) When we talk about influencers, we often think of fleeting glory and superficiality. Pioneers committed respectively to community housing and the protection of natural environments, Edith Cyr and Louise Gratton have deeply and lastingly marked their environment over decades.

Edith Cyr has been cultivating community housing projects for over 40 years. Under her leadership, the social economy organization Bâtir son quartier, of which she has been executive director since its creation in 1994, has brought to fruition 450 projects and some 15,000 housing units, becoming a benchmark in this area in the country.

Relentlessly, it has brought together political, community, institutional and private actors around projects aimed at supporting less well-off households and preserving local built heritage. At the same time, she chairs the Social Economy Council of the Island of Montreal, coordinates the Montreal Investment Fund and sits on a range of municipal and provincial boards of directors. Among others. In short, printing his CV would exhaust the cartridge of your printer…

But what fuels M^me Cyr to bring to fruition, with his teams, so many projects over such a long term and on so many fronts? “From the start, I wanted to intervene in the community and for the collective, allowing me to work on inequalities and inequity, but also to see the results materialize. It also unites the social and the economic, allowing me to be an entrepreneur who responds to social needs”, confides the one who never tires of seeing residents take control of their living environment, according to projects always more imposing.

At the center of the chessboard, Edith Cyr strives to reconcile participants from all sectors and to demonstrate that these types of housing constitute a social foundation stone. “We have to change mentalities, find partnerships. Yes, it takes energy, perseverance, determination,” she says.

A privileged witness to the evolution of the sector, she was able to observe the solidification of the links between these community projects and private promoters. “There were prejudices on both sides, but we mutually demystified each other and we found common interests,” she rejoices.

Of course, there are no achievements without obstacles, inevitable over such a long term. The withdrawal of federal government contributions in the 1990s was a major one, handled with resilience and creativity. Today, the search for recurring funding remains one of its hobbyhorses. “There is still a long way to go. We have year-round programs, whereas in real estate, we need predictability,” she notes.

The years go by, the challenges too: the pandemic has toughened the housing economy. But as she has demonstrated for decades, Edith Cyr is not one to be discouraged. “It’s not in my nature!” For every problem, a solution. I still have the determination to say that we have the means to ensure that every Quebecer has decent housing that they can afford. »

Between crossroads and corridors

Louise Gratton also has habitat at heart; but in his case, it is about natural habitat. Just like Edith Cyr, for more than 40 years, she has never wavered from her aspirations. Biologist and consultant in ecology and conservation, she worked with various organizations before co-founding Appalachian Corridor at the dawn of the 2000s. Her vocation: to protect the natural environments of the Appalachian region of southern Quebec, while connecting areas preserved for fauna and flora. President of Nature Québec since 2017, she fights for biodiversity to have a voice in land use planning by the public or private sector.

“I had noticed that there were only nine large 100 km massifs left^⁠2 completely intact between Vermont and Matapédia, including that of the Sutton Mountains, she recalls. I said to myself that it was absolutely necessary to protect this environment, realizing that even 100 km^⁠2 were not sufficient for many species, such as the moose or the bobcat. If we build around it, we have a loss of biodiversity. Populations must be able to communicate with Vermont and Mont-Orford Park, hence the idea of ​​creating a corridor. »

A weaving of partnerships thus begins to unite local conservation groups, landowners and municipalities. The organization becomes a model of its kind, an influencer in the truest sense of the term: “What makes me proud is not so much my accomplishments, but rather when I see people to whom I propose actions, who do them. and succeed in them. It keeps me motivated! “says the one who catalyzed the Montérégie Coalition or Horizon Nature Bas-Saint-Laurent, counterpart organizations.

Over time, she has honed her ability to convince municipalities, owners and reduce the footprints of developers.

Result: while Edith Cyr provided nearly 15,000 households with affordable and participatory housing, Louise Gratton protected 16,200 hectares in perpetuity in the Eastern Townships.

Today, she continues to put the pieces of her environmental puzzle together, creating ever more connections for the creation of corridors that will promote animal migration, including ensuring coordination and linkage with similar projects launched in the States. -United. When the Autoroute 85 project was launched in Témiscouata, she grabbed her pilgrim’s staff and convinced the Ministry of Transport to create wildlife crossings.

“With climate change, these corridors will be essential. Quebec will be a climate refuge for many species,” recalls Ms.^me Gratton. Is she optimistic for the future? “Do we really have a choice? If Nike hadn’t invented the “Just do it” slogan, I would have! she jokes.