In the latest example of what conservation groups describe as the airport authority's repeated failure to live up to its own environmental commitments, Aéroports de Montréal has destroyed 2,500 square metres of meadowlands north of Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.

The former meadow is on Crown land in Montreal's St-Laurent borough -- land that is included in the 230-hectare Parc-nature des Sources conservation project, for which broad support has been expressed by environmentalists, scientists and elected officials in the region.

Katherine Collin, president of the conservation group TechnoparcOiseaux, discovered the meadow had been razed last week. She was aware ADM was planning to replace a fence along the perimeter of the airport, but was shocked to find a large section of meadow razed, flattened and covered with construction materials.

"To my dismay, I found an entire section of meadow with native plants for pollinators and phragmites (perennial reed grasses) had been completely clearcut, with a layer of topsoil removed," Collin said. "I've never seen anything like it in the sector."

She was aware of the planned fence project because, as a federal agency, ADM must declare any land use projects in a public registry of the Canadian Impact Assessment Agency (CIAA). Collin had seen the notice, but the environmental protection measures laid out in it were completely ignored, she said.

In the Sept. 29 notice to the CIAA, ADM said the project was "not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects" provided it respected certain mitigation measures, which ADM laid out.

The airport authority said it would "minimize topsoil and vegetation removal, avoid moving or storing materials on ... living vegetation, preserve existing vegetation (trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants) that does not interfere with the work, limit deforestation and avoid disturbance of adjacent vegetation."

A spokesperson for ADM said a contractor was responsible for the error.

"The contractor working on the project to replace a portion of the fence to define the secure perimeter of the YUL Montreal-Trudeau International Airport site has cleared a portion of land for equipment storage," wrote Émilie Chevrette, a communications adviser for ADM.

"This intervention was neither shared with, approved by, nor authorized by ADM. This action in no way complies with the environmental requirements for our organization's construction work, included in the call for tenders for this project. Our team was informed of the situation (on Oct. 3) and quickly demanded that the contractor restore the area after the work. We can already tell you that the site will be rehabilitated and re-naturalized upon completion of the work by the end of the month."

But Collin said the situation echoes the destruction in 2022 of 4,000 milkweed plants on a 19-hectare section of the Crown lands known as the Monarch Fields. ADM also blamed that on a contractor, she said, and promised to restore the plants elsewhere. That work was not done to the satisfaction of environmental groups and she is calling on ADM to consult her group or another independent group with expertise to restore the meadow.

Chevrette said ADM has its own "team of environmental management professionals" that will ensure the soil at the site is properly restored.

St-Laurent borough mayor Alan DeSousa called ADM a "repeat offender" when it comes to habitat destruction on land it leases from the federal government.

"As mayor, I am tired of hearing excuses. We saw that same excuse used with regard to the Monarch Fields, where they razed thousands of plants necessary for the monarch butterfly's habitat. Here is another case where they say: 'Oops, our subcontractor made a mistake.' Ultimately, the responsible party is the airport authority and they've got to make sure this does not happen, period."

Motions supporting the conservation of the land north of the airport have been passed by the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal council, representing 82 municipalities in the region, the Montreal agglomeration council, representing all cities on the island, as well as the councils of two dozen individual cities and boroughs in the Montreal region.

The Parc-nature des Sources project includes 170 hectares of Crown land in Dorval and Montreal, which the federal Transport Department leased to ADM in 1992. That lease does not expire until 2072, and so far ADM has said it wants to preserve only 24 hectares of the land and develop the rest for airport use or commercial exploits.

TechnoparcOiseaux, the Green Coalition and other conservation groups have been pushing the federal government to modify the lease, arguing the context has radically changed since it was signed, given the dual climate and biodiversity crises.

They argue a conservation area -- perhaps an "urban national park" -- would be a more appropriate use of the land, given the lack of natural space left on Montreal Island. A popular birdwatching site, the area is home to about 220 species of birds and provides habitat for many other species, including the endangered monarch butterfly.

Conservation groups are hoping to make the nature park project a municipal election issue, even if it is the federal government that holds the cards.

The topic will certainly be discussed at a coming candidates' debate, dubbed the Grand débat en environnement. The event is organized by the Regroupement des éco-quartiers in partnership with the Conseil régional de l'environnement de Montréal and others, and will take place Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. at the Maison du développement durable, 50 Ste-Catherine St. W.

Those taking part include Projet Montréal mayoralty candidate Luc Rabouin, Ensemble Montréal's DeSousa (running for re-election as borough mayor of St-Laurent), Futur Montréal mayoralty candidate Jean-François Kacou and Transition Montréal's city council candidate for Jeanne-Mance district, Shirley Barnea.

Trudeau airport authority admits its contractor razed a meadow, ignoring conservation measures