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Reports from the Office de consultation publique: Les amis' reaction

Les amis de la montagne receive the reports of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal with enthusiasm on the subject of the draft Mount Royal Protection and Enhancement Plan and the project to expand the Montreal General Hospital.

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Les amis de la montagne react with enthusiasm to the Office de consultation publique de Montréal’s report on the draft Mount Royal Protection and Enhancement Plan

Montreal, 26 August 2008 – Les amis de la montagne are in favour of the report by the commission of the Office de Consultation Publique de Montréal on the City of Montreal’s draft Mount Royal Protection and Enhancement Plan rendered public today.

“The draft Mount Royal Protection and Enhancement Plan proposed by the City of Montreal for consultation purposes brings together an impressive amount of professional expertise. The draft plan draws a precise picture of the state of the mountain and its heritage assets, as well as its major challenges and problems. Nonetheless, the draft plan remains incomplete on a number of essential matters, which the commissioners corroborate in their report,” said Peter A. Howlett, C.M., President, Les amis de la montagne.

• A vision for the entire territory of the mountain. The document limits itself to the boundaries of the historic and natural district decreed by the Quebec Government.
• Treatment of the concept of the three summits and a vision that orients objectives and determines priorities.
• Guarantees for the plan’s realisation and follow-through on announced intentions.

More fundamentally for Les amis, the process that oversees development on the mountain as outlined does not meet the requirements that Montrealers would expect for a territory of such importance, including objectives related to transparency, consultation and participation. The municipal administration evoked these objectives in the creation of the Table de concertation du Mont-Royal and they were the primary motivation behind Les amis’ involvement in the process overall. These objectives also reflect the concerns brought forward by the participants at the consultations.

According to Mr. Howlett, “Through our analysis of the draft plan, we conclude that good work was done in the analysis and the identification of needs, but that much remains to be accomplished, what with the real work only just beginning. To ensure the success of this process, the municipal administration must direct the appropriate financial and human resources to the realization of this plan. Otherwise, the plan will become just another reference document, filled with good intentions.”

Les amis de la montagne are likewise convinced that the objectives of this plan will never be realized without the involvement of the greater Montreal community. To garner support, mechanisms need to be put into place to provide information to the population on an ongoing basis, to ensure transparency in decision-making and to encourage the real involvement of citizens and various mountain partners in the process.

Recall that during the public consultations, Les amis de la montagne put forward the following specific recommendations related to the draft plan:

1. That the cities (Westmount and Montreal) and boroughs demonstrate their willingness to preserve the mountain’s heritage over-and-above the current ministerial requirements and work towards a more global definition of the territory to be protected.
2. That the Table de concertation du Mont-Royal takes on the exercise of translating into action a global vision for the protected territory.
3. That the City of Montreal, together with the Table de concertation, quickly establishes a plan identifying priorities, measurable objectives, timelines, budgets and the individuals responsible for the plan’s realization.
4. That the Table de concertation becomes incorporated in the Charter of the City of Montreal and that its role becomes central in the protection and enhancement of Mount Royal.
5. That the Table de concertation has a say in the establishment of priorities entered into annual and tri-annual planning.
6. That the Table de concertation receives a report annually on accomplishments and financial statements related to the plan.
7. That the members of the Table de concertation are invited to benefit from this privileged platform of information and exchange to make known their needs, projects, development plans and accomplishments related to the protection and enhancement of Mount Royal.
8. That the elaboration of the Patrimonial Pacts and the development agreements that ensue are realized in a spirit of openness and transparency to include all stakeholders of the process thereby allowing for the improvement of said initiatives.

The expansion of the Montreal General Hospital (MUHC) on Mount Royal still raises important questions: the report of the Office de Consultation Publique de Montréal arrives at the same conclusions as Les amis de la montagne.

Les amis de la montagne are in agreement with the conclusions of the public consultation report held on the project to expand the Montreal General Hospital. Les amis are relieved that the commissioners share the organization’s doubts as to the pertinence of the project within the protected historic and natural district and have therefore, fixed limits on the site in question.

“The MUHC’s reorganization project will be an important marker in the history of this city and the mountain. The time has come for elected officials to make the decisions that best reflect the concerns of the community expressed in the commissioners’ report, as much in the name of excellence in health care delivery, as in the protection of this exceptional heritage we have in the heart of our city,” said Peter A. Howlett, C.M., President of Les amis de la montagne.

Recall that in 2001, the Heenan Commission recommendations for the Montreal General Hospital stated “that no other project should be authorized on these grounds.” The heritage evaluation conducted of the site also demonstrated that the construction of the hospital marked the beginning of a collective consciousness-raising on the limits to the mountain’s capacity and the importance of limiting development. In 1957, the Association of Architects adopted a proposal in a similar vein, limiting the number of new buildings on the southern flank of the mountain to six stories, legally recognized in a 1963 zoning by-law. Today, the MUHC project proposes a 50 percent expansion of the hospital. Will this project be the last?

Convinced that the Mount Royal context requires projects that take strides to significantly reduce their impact and even contribute in an exemplary fashion to the enhancement of the collective heritage of the mountain, Les amis de la montagne participated with Héritage Montréal in a number of discussions on the hospital project with the MUHC. The Montreal General Hospital project requires above all else correctives to the hospital’s place in the mountain landscape through architectural interventions and landscaping that would reduce the place of the automobile on the site and the imposing mass of the structure to the benefit of its relation between the city and Mount Royal Park. The hospital project and the protection of the mountain should not be treated as opposing objectives, but developed with a global vision for the sector.

Les amis de la montagne is an independent organization founded by the Montreal community in 1986 dedicated to the protection and enhancement of Mount Royal. Les amis pursue therefore, a very long tradition in Quebec of citizen involvement in the preservation of the mountain.

Information:
Gabrielle Korn
Director of Communications
Les amis de la montagne
(514) 843-8240 ext. 237