Thomas Mulcair commits to make every effort to resolve the situation because of the impact it has on citizens’ health.
A delegation of the citizens’ committee Les Pollués de Montréal-Trudeau met this afternoon with the NDP leader Thomas Mulcair to raise the issue of the very serious aircraft noise pollution a large section of the population of Montreal has been subjected to over the last few years, due to changes in air traffic management by NAV Canada and the failure of Aéroports de Montreal (ADM) and Transport Canada to intervene.
Representatives (citizens) of the boroughs of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc Extension, Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Saint-Laurent, and residents of Mont Royal, explained to Mr. Mulcair that they have suffered a significant drop in their quality of life, caused by the transition to low altitudes of aircraft taking off and landing at Montreal-Trudeau Airport, as well as the significant increase in night flights.
They also drew attention to the fact that they are completely ignored by ADM, which denies that changes to aircraft trajectories have occurred over the last few years, and even claims that there has never been a curfew in effect following the transfer of international flights from Mirabel to Dorval in 1998.
Mr. Mulcair, accompanied by his deputies Maria Mourani and Hoang Mai (spokesman on transport), took on board the concerns of the delegation, which included former Federal Liberal MP Marlene Jennings, and Philippe Roy, Mayor of Mont Royal. Mr.Mulcair acknowledged that aircraft noise pollution in Montreal was a real problem and committed to make every effort to resolve the situation because of the impact it had on citizens’ health.
Other leaders
Les Pollués de Montréal-Trudeau also sent requests for meetings with other party leaders. They will be meeting with Mario Beaulieu, leader of the Bloc Québécois, next week.
“We hope that Justin Trudeau will also agree to open his door to us, especially as the citizens of his riding of Papineau are very much affected by aircraft noise”, said Antoine Bécotte, president of Les Pollués de Montréal-Trudeau. So far, Mr. Trudeau has not even acknowledged receipt of requests for a meeting we sent him in recent months.”
Failing a meeting with Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party, the citizens’ committee would like to have the opportunity to interact with Denis Lebel, lieutenant of the party in Quebec.
About the Les Pollués de Montréal-Trudea
A group of citizens in northern Montreal incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the summer of 2013, the main demands of Les Pollués de Montréal-Trudeau are a review of landing and take-off protocols at the Montreal-Trudeau Airport with the objective of raising altitude levels of aircraft flying over the island of Montreal, and the application of a strict curfew between 11 pm and 7 am.