While the St. Pierre River is a shadow of what it once was, it played a major role in our history.
To help us better assess the river’s importance, McGill University’s CRIEM (Centre for interdisciplinary research in Montreal studies) launched a podcast at the end of February, called Le fleuve qui nous traverse in the series Montréalers and Islanders.
Four speakers participated in the podcast, all associated in one way or another with Les amis. They were Kregg Hetherington, associate professor at Concordia University, and Louise Legault, both Meadowbrook board members, as well as Danielle Plamondon of Les AmiEs de la Craig and Yenny Vega Cardenas, president of the Observatoire international des droits de la nature, who participated in the campaign to save the St. Pierre River and continues to promote recognition of the St. Lawrence River as a legal person. Pascale Rouillé, president of Les Ateliers Ublo, rounded out the panel.
The podcast arose from a June 2022 guided tour tracing the course of the old St. Pierre River to its mouth. The participants set off from Duquette Park, passing the Atwater filtration station on the way to Strathmore St. toward Grenier, Sutherland-Sackville-Bain and Arthur Therrien Parks. The tour continued to the waterfront walk and followed it to the “Baie des Capotes” (that’s what Google actually indicates!) and Monseigneur Richard secondary school.
You can listen to the podcast which is in French HERE. Choose the second one in the series: Le fleuve qui nous traverse (55 min.) Feb.23, 2023.
Enjoy!
