Steven Guilbeault (Equiterre), André Porlier (CRE-Montreal) and Arthur Sandborn (Greenpeace) have intentions of filing an interlocutory (provisional) injunction in Quebec Superior Court to put an immediate stop to the work on the construction of the Bridge related to the extension of Autoroute 25.
(Photo: Marc-Andre Menard Courrier Laval)[:AC:]BV:Work on the bridge at the eastern end of Laval island has been going on since February 20, much to the chagrin of the green Coalition that is opposed to the project in its present form. The Coalition, composed of Équiterre, CRE-Montréal and Greenpeace, has expressed concern over a number of irregularities associated with the consultation process used to approve the highway extension project.
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
The green Coalition announces it will carry out its threat
An injunction will be filed in Quebec Superior Court by Équiterre, CRE-Montreal and Greenpeace
Intending to fight fire with fire, the green Coalition opposed to the extension of Autoroute 25 announced at mid-week that it would be filing a request in Superior Court for an injunction to immediately stop construction work on the bridge to be erected at the eastern end of the island, work which got underway on the Laval side of the river on February 20.
"A demand for an interlocutory (provisional) injunction seeking to block all environmental damage to water and natural habitats will be deposited by our lawyer, Attorney Franklin Gertler, in the next few days," declared André Porlier, director-general of CRE (Conseil regional de l'environnement – Regional Environment Council) de Montréal, at a mid-week press conference. He figures the court will settle the matter by mid-March.
Financing
Dating back to Spring 2006, this legal saga has already cost the three environmental groups of the Coalition about $50,000. "To help finance the latest measure and the subsequent process, we're launching a fund-raising campaign under the slogan of 'Give $25 Against The 25' and invite all citizens to make their donations on line," says Steven Guilbeault, spokesperson for Équiterre, one of the three groups making up the coalition.
Whether Superior Court issues the injunction or not, the process seeking to invalidate the government decree authorizing the extension of Autoroute 25 will still come before the courts June 2.
A series of events
Recent events which have shaken things up in the past three weeks tend to show "the legitimacy of our cause," claims Mr. Porlier.
He makes reference to the postponement of the earlier process with just two days' notice, after the government had justified its February 5 demand (for postponement of the legal proceedings intended to start February 7, and moved ahead to June 2) by citing medical leave of the attorney assigned to the case. Nine days later the government issued the authorization giving the private partner the green light to begin construction. "They were in quite a hurry," states Greenpeace spokesperson Arthur Sandborn, adding that "the work would have normally started in April."
Against the flow
Pronouncing himself deeply saddened and disappointed about the turn of events, Steven Guilbeault maintains that "in the era of Kyoto and out of the urgent need to counteract climatic changes, everyone's energies should be channeled towards the advancement of projects and we should not have to spend time defending acquired rights."
The acquired rights of which he speaks is the Quebec law on Protection of the Environment. "It's because the government and its minister decided not to defend their law that we've decided to do it (instead)," he explains, not missing a beat.
His Greenpeace counterpart, Arthur Sandborn, had indicated earlier that it is the basic foundation of the public consultation process of BAPE (Bureau des audiences publiques sur l'environnement) that has been put into question. "We cannot leave the developer, and the environmental evaluation of the project out of the consultation process as was done during the public hearings on the extension of Autoroute 25," emphasizes Mr. Sandborn, who contests the legality of the proceedings such as they were. There is a danger that this
"process could become the rule," states a worried Steven Guilbeault, adding that this could compromise the process of establishing and defining the real environmental impact of future projects under study. Greenpeace, Equiterre and CRE-Montreal are now accepting donations on line at
www.25contrela25.org.Photo: Pick up, 28 fev. P. 3
(Photo: Marc-Andre Menard Courrier Laval)(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Steven Guilbeault - Chronique environnement
Richard Cléroux - Le fouineur politique
