According to the Montreal daily Le Devoir, the Tremblay administration is reassessing its stance regarding the protection of green spaces, having achieved most of the goals set out when the policy was launched in 2004. Although the green spaces program was initially allotted a budget of $36 million, the city’s upcoming annual budget is not expected to set any money aside for the acquisition of lands.

While the aim of the green spaces policy was to preserve six per cent of natural areas on the island, the administration is now apparently within one percentage point of that goal. The Green Coalition has been trying for years to get the Meadowbrook Golf Course in Côte St. Luc declared a protected space. The Falaise St. Jacques in NDG is also on a list of lands that the coalition believes are threatened by neglect.

The group bases its apprehensions about the city reneging on its green space commitments on statements DeSousa and Mayor Gérald Tremblay made in December during a meeting of the Agglomeration Council. Citing budget constraints, DeSousa and Tremblay suggested the natural spaces program is in question.

The Green Coalition is upset that money Montreal set aside for new conservation of lands is being re-assigned to improvements in existing local and large-area parks. Although an Agglomeration commission recommended last June that Meadowbrook be named the island’s 11th protected eco-territory, the Green Coalition is not satisfied.

“The lack of funding, coupled with official waffling on the commission’s recommendations signals that the Politique de protection et de mise en valeur des milieux naturels is defunct,” they said in a statement. “Mr. DeSousa stated that the city could decide to acquire some natural areas ‘as opportunities arise.’

“More than 1,000 unprotected hectares of natural greenspace across the Island are now more at risk than ever of being hacked down and replaced by asphalt and concrete.” In an interview with The Monitor, DeSousa said the City of Montreal is still some ways off from achieving the six per cent goal. At the same time, he acknowledged the city is in no hurry to spend in order to preserve green space.

“Over the years we have over a period of time used a variety of measures, but money always being the last measure, because clearly the objective is not to make land developers rich,” he said. “The objective is to make sure that we do everything we can to use every tool in the book to protect green space on the island and to be able to continue to reach the target,” but “not all of them require the spending of money.”