Letters to the Editor:

Green Coalition Charges: Still maintains there is nothing worth saving: West End Times, May 29 2010 Dear Editor, It is embarassing, for Pierrefonds- Roxboro and for Montreal, that as a member of Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI http://www.iclei.org/) our borough mayor presents the Anselme Lavigne Woods issue as one of "Trees or People", and this in 2010, the year of Biodiversity. The conflict about the woodlot results in part as a result of local officials not respecting their own urban plan. In 2007, Pierrefonds- Roxboro added objective 22 to its own urban plan. Objective 22 contains numerous actions the borough could use as a checklist to ensure the projects it approves promote sustainable development principles and more importantly, protect the borough infrastructure and residents from the impacts of climate change. However, since 2007, and on numerous occasions, council was asked how it made use of its objective 22 in development related issues.The consistent answer has been" The borough does not do such types of evaluations". When they,a provincial/federal government, subsidized synthetic soccer field for Pierrefonds during the 2009 election campaign, the borough did not consider objective 22.Too bad. This would have allowed the borough to manage the issue that synthetic turf creates urban hot spots and that children will now play on soccer fields that may be dangerous (too hot) for them. At a few Urban Planning Advisory Comittee meetings (UPAC/CCU), I asked the committee that pre-approves developments how they made use of objective 22. They answered they do not consider Objective 22. When I found this out I even provided them with a checklist to make it easier for them to use. Recently, under the major project now underway to harmonize (and change) a number of urban planning and zoning bylaws,I again asked,if the borough and their consultants (Daniel Arbour & Associés) have 444082110 Re: Mayor Worth Responds to checked if the proposed bylaws respect our urban plan and in particular objective 22.The answer again "The borough does not do such types of evaluations". In the case of the Anselme Lavigne woods, the use of objective 22 could have reminded them of the need to preserve rare or vulnerable species, and could have at least encouraged them to consider if it would have been better to preserve the woodlot and use instead one of the many empty lots in the borough that could have been more conveniently located. It is really not about trees or people. And it does not help civic debates when local officials denigrate residents who raise obvious points that should have been considered by the administration. The issue is about respecting one's own urban plan often presented by officials as a social contract between the administration and residents. It has been over 2 1/2 years since the borough's urban plan has been updated with information to more clearly manage sustainable development issues, including the protection of rare species, and the management of impacts associated to climate change. It appears then local officials are choosing, knowingly, to circumvent their own urban plan, especially on points of sustainable development and public safety (objective 22 - preseve species, minimize risks associated with climate change, etc). As a result, it could be argued local officials may be making decisions that create risks and go against public health and safety (by not managing impacts from climate change), that are knowingly destroying rare species (by not identifying them prior to development), in this year of Biodiversity, in the case of building an intermediate care facility. What a way to celebrate 2010 the year of Biodiversity in Pierrefonds- Roxboro and Montreal. Lewis Poulin Pierrefonds-Roxbor

Please e-mail your letters to the Editor at: info@westendtimes.ca

Is Mayor Worth, worth saving?

Dear Editor,

I was shaking my head as I read John Symon's excellent piece (May 30 edition) entitled MayorWorth Responds to Green Coalition's Charges; Still Maintains That 'There is Nothing Worth Saving'. In November, City Council Chairman, Claude Dauphin told me to meet with Pierrefonds' Monique Worth in order to discuss doing something in the best interest of humanity. In her new position as the Executive Committee Member for Recreation, she is in an exceptional position to help. Mayor Worth did not have the decency to respond to my emails, faxes or phone message. In February, I went to the Pierrefonds Council Meeting essentially to ask Worth; "Why have you ignored me?" At that council meeting I was refused my legal right to ask any question! I was told; "Mayor Worth does not allow non-residents the right to ask questions." This was in spite of the fact that it clearly states in the Cities and Town's Act that any member of the public may pose a question,and of course MayorWorth has been in politics for over 20 years, so should know the rules. After Mayor Worth finally began to abide by the law (and not readily), I asked her twice to do what is in the best interest of the citizens of Pierrefonds-Roxboro/humanity. She has done absolutely nothing. In my personal opinion Mayor Worth is more loyal to Mayor Tremblay and Velo Quebec, than to the citizens that she is supposed to serve. In March came the disclosure that some of the political representatives of Pierrefonds had the audacity to attend charity golf tournaments at the expense of the public. (At such events 70% of the entry fee generally goes to the charity and 30% goes to feeding/entertaining. If a politician is donating taxpayers' $$ IMHO100% and not only 70% should go to charity.) In April came the news that Pierrefonds donated taxpayers' money to a private school,and to add insult to injury, the name of MoniqueWorth appears in conjunction with Pierrefonds-Roxboro as the donor. (Requests to Worth and the school to see that the funds are returned, have been ignored now for three weeks.) And now in May, we have Mayor Worth maintaining that 'There is nothing worth saving' in the woods behind the Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School, when I personally saw black maple and 4 other species that the Government of Quebec has deemed rare. I ask;"Is Mayor Worth, worth saving?" In my personal opinion, I feel that it would be a good idea to administer IQ and motivational tests to those wishing to run for public office in the future. If this were done in Montreal we would end up with better leaders, and possibly even avoid costly elections. I encourage Mayor MoniqueWorth to volunteer to be the first to undergo such testing immediately,if not sooner!

Murray Levine, http://murraymakingadifference.wordpress.com/

* JUNE 5, 2010 5 444090410

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