Ombudsman of Montréal August 1, 2006 275, rue Notre-Dame Est Bureau R-100 Montréal (Québec) H2Y 1C6 Téléphone : 514 872-8999 Télécopieur : 514 872-2379 Courriel : [email protected] Re: Montréal City Council vote on May 23, 2006 to approve a Land Exchange at Rapides du Cheval Blanc - dossier no. 1032863003 Madame Ombudsman: The Green Coalition respectfully requests the Ombudsman to examine the evidence that citizens’ rights have been violated by the Montreal City Council vote (Agenda item 20.16) to approve a land exchange permitting the realization of a large-scale residential development project at Rapides du Cheval Blanc West. It is our strong belief that the vote at Montreal City Council on May 23, 2006 contradicts many of the policy directions adopted by this City; namely, Politique de consultation et de participation publique, Plan stratégique de développement durable, Politique de protection et mise en valeur des milieux naturels, Plan de Transport, Politique de l’arbre, and Charte Montréalaise des droits et responsabilités. It is our strong belief that the vote on May 23 has set in motion a large-scale development project at Rapides du Cheval Blanc Ecoterritory without any prior public consultation whatsoever. Our only recourse is this appeal to the Ombudsman. The Green Coalition formally requests the Ombudsman to overturn the May 23 vote or to facilitate an inquiry into events leading up to that vote so that the history of public clamour to have the Rapides du Cheval Blanc waterfront land preserved, going back to the 1960s, will not have been denied. The Green Coalition also requests the Ombudsman to investigate irregularities in the procedures of the vote itself at Montreal City Council on May 23, 2006. On behalf of the Green Coalition, an association of many groups and individual citizens of Greater Montreal, dedicated to the conservation, protection and restoration of the environment and to the wise use of green and blue spaces, we express our appreciation for your attention. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further information related to this submission. Al Hayek, President On behalf of: 4545 Trenholme Ave, Green Coalition – Coalition Verte Inc. Montreal, Qc 18 Alliance Ave., H4B 1X8 Montreal, Qc, Tel: (514) 487-7685; (514)-683-7864 H4K 2C6 cc: Premier of Quebec cc: Claude Béchard, MDDEP cc: Municipal affairs, Quebec cc: Mayor of Montreal and Executive Committee Members cc: Mayoress-Pierrefonds-Roxboro cc: Vision Montréal cc: Projet Montréal cc: Canadian Environmental Law Association cc: Wildlands League cc: Nature Conservancy of Canada cc: Sierra Club cc: Nature Québec/UQCN cc : Greenpeace cc : Cre-Montréal cc : ZipVilleMarie cc : ZipJacquesCartier Montreal Media National Media cc: Fifth Estate CBC cc: Marketplace – Underdogs CBC cc: The Globe and Mail cc: The National Post Photo courtesy of A. Shtern 1. Coordonnées du demandeur Al Hayek, President 4545 Trenholme Ave Montreal, Qc H4B 1X8 (514) 487-7685 email: [email protected] On behalf of : Green Coalition-Coalition Verte Inc. 18 Alliance Ave. Montreal, Qc H4K 2C6 2. Nature du problème pour lequel vous demandez de l’aide de l’ombudsman We request that the Ombudsman of Montreal investigate the events leading up to, and irregularities in the procedures of an important vote at Montreal City Council on May 23, 2006. The vote resulted in Montreal City Council giving the approval to exchange its publicly owned greenspaces to Les Développements des Rapides du Cheval Blanc Inc. Citizens have called for the preservation of these spaces for forty years. The rights of citizens to be consulted prior to setting this project in motion have been violated. 3. Arrondissement visé 1) The City of Montreal 2) Pierrefonds-Roxboro 4. Service visé par votre demande Affaires corporatives, Direction du contentieux Développement culturel / de la qualité du milieu de vie et de la diversité ethnoculturelle, Direction des sports / des parcs et des espaces verts Infrastructures / transport et environnement, Direction de l’administration et du soutien technique Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Bureau du directeur d’arrondissement 5. Numéro de votre dossier dans cet arrondissement ou ce service Ville de Montréal - dossier no. 1032863003 Pierrefonds-Roxboro - dossier no. 1032863003 6. Pour quelle raison croyez-vous que vous n’avez pas été traité correctement ou que vos droits n’ont pas été respectés? I) We strongly believe that the vote on May 23, 2006 at the City of Montreal Council (Agenda item 20.16) to approve the land exchange at Rapides du Cheval Blanc has grievously violated the rights of citizens. Citizens have called for the conservation of the natural spaces at Rapides du Cheval Blanc for 40 years. The land exchange trades away publicly-owned land for private profit – natural land that was already owned by the City, land that citizens want conserved. Citizens’ rights to be consulted prior to setting the large-scale residential project in motion at the Rapides du Cheval Blanc Ecoterritory (West) have been violated. Our only and final recourse is this appeal to the Ombudsman to overturn the vote or to facilitate an inquiry into events leading to that vote. 1) The vote (Agenda item 20.16) on the land exchange to permit the realization of a major residential development project in the Rapides du Cheval Blanc Ecoterritory prior to public consultation is clearly in violation of the City of Montreal’s Policies on public participation as prescribed in the Montréal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities, the Politique de consultation et de participation publique and the Politique de protection et de mise en valeur des milieux naturels (Natural Spaces Policy). Other instances of violations of the rights of citizens to be heard are also noted. • The description of the Montréal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities as contained on the City of Montréal web site reads: “With this charter, the city has adopted an essential tool for building a future rooted in the qualities we value: openness, respect, solidarity, transparency and democracy.” • The Préambule of the Politique de consultation et de participation publiques states that « Montréal reconnaît par le fait même que toutes et tous doivent pouvoir influencer les décisions qui les touchent et participer au développement collectif. » • The second paragraph of the sixth “axes d’intervention” of the Politique de protection et de mise en valeur des milieux naturels (p. 16) states that «…dans chacun des écoterritories, au fur et à mesure des opportunités, la Ville entend favoriser les discussions entre citoyens, représentants d’organismes environnementaux et promoteurs afin d’élaborer des projets de développement … » • Development plans for Rapides du Cheval Blanc West were not included in any of the discussions or consultations on the urban plan (secteur Pierrefonds) adopted in June 2005 and no development project for Rapides du Cheval Blanc is included in the urban plan itself. The legitimacy of any project for Rapides du Cheval Blanc West is questionable in these circumstances. • In public forums and in the media, Mayor Monique Worth has stated that there would be ample opportunities at public consultations for citizens to express their concerns about the proposed Rapides du Cheval Blanc West project. With the City Council vote May 23, the city has taken an almost irrevocable step towards the realization of the large-scale project without the promised public consultations ever having taken place. Now consultations are promised for a later date. But citizens fear their input will be futile with the machinery already in motion to realize the project. • Registered letters (Appendix1 2004-11-29) were sent on November 29, 2004 from the Green Coalition to Mayor Gérald Tremblay and to Mayor Monique Worth requesting the date of any public hearings on the Plan d’ aménagement d’ensemble (P.A.E.) for the Cheval Blanc West project and requesting adequate notice to allow citizens time to prepare briefs. The written reply received stated that there was currently no project, but notices would be published in local journals as required by law. No notices were published nor were public hearings held prior to the Montreal City Council vote on May 23 that set the major development plan in motion at Cheval Blanc West. • There has been no public discussion of the proposed development project at Rapides du Cheval Blanc West, as provided for in the Natural Spaces Policy prior to any development in an ecoterritory. In the report on the Natural Spaces Policy, May 2006 (Natural Habitats – Results to Date and Current Priorities: Milieux Naturels – Bilan et Orientations), it states that a concept development plan would be drawn up in open public consultation sessions for each ecoterritory (p.23): (“We intend to pursue dialogue with environmental organizations and citizen groups interested in the future of our natural habitats. To date broad public consultation has been the method favoured for publicizing conservation projects. These meetings, organized together with the boroughs, spur citizen involvement in formulating a vision of the future of each ecoterritory, a vision which in each instance takes the form of a concept development plan.”) The “broad public consultation” needed to take place first, before the vote on the land exchange. Thus the vote of Montreal City Council on May 23, 2006 needs to be reversed. • The public consultation on the Bilan et Orientations 2006 on the Natural Spaces Policy carried out on June 12 was perfunctory. Citizens were given only a few minutes to state their case, and many people left without the opportunity to ask all of their questions. This public consultation was not adequate. 2) Citizens have called for the conservation of the natural spaces at Rapides du Cheval Blanc for 40 years. Grassroots efforts to save ecologically valuable spaces across the Island of Montreal, including Cheval Blanc, have involved thousands of citizens through the years.