Citizens of the Laurentians are clamoring to regulate the housing complex, which they say threatens the region’s wetlands.
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“It was all wooded. There were conifers and deciduous trees. There is a swamp all around. Everything was razed to the ground,” protests Jeannot Aucoin.
The president of the Association for the Protection of the Blue Lake has long been concerned about the destruction of the forest around Lake Saint-Hippolyte, a commune of around 11,000 residents near Prévost.
Two weeks ago, the clearing of land to build around thirty houses, the construction of which had not yet been approved by the municipality, was the last straw.
“It was not done on the basis of wetlands,” he denounces.
Jeannot Aucoin denounces the destruction of the forest around the blue lake in Saint-Hippolyte, which he says threatens wetlands. Photo Anouk Lebel
“Terrible”
Across the lake, Julie Brazeau discovered a scene of desolation as she went to show a friend her snowshoe trail.
“There were no more trees, nothing. I cried because it was so terrible,” says the woman who converted her childhood lakeside chalet to raise her two children there.
Julie Brazeau is saddened that the snowshoe trails have been destroyed for residential development. Photo Anouk Lebel
This is the third phase of a real estate development project with 275 houses, explains developer Patrick Bissonnette. “Everything is true,” he said.
The municipality confirms that it has approved deforestation for the construction of a road to build 30 houses there, but no permit has yet been granted.
“They will not be built in wetlands,” assures deputy mayor Chantal Lachaine.
“We will reach the end”
“We have no plan for our area, we have no overall vision, we go through one project after the other,” criticizes Sonia Tremblay, independent local councilor.
“It’s a problem everywhere in Quebec. All that remains is to build beautiful forests or wetlands. At some point we will reach the end,” comments Kim Marineau, biologist and president of the Biodiversité Conseil company.
The teacher at the University of Sherbrooke is concerned about the impact on groundwater levels and stormwater management.
“We will have to pay with more flooding and more pollution in waterways. “It is a problem that we will postpone until later, but the damage will be significant,” warns the expert.
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