In the foreground, left to right: Louise Legault, Jo Ann Goldwater, Deanne Delaney, M.N.A. Désirée McGraw; in the background, Pierre Bourbonnière, Al Hayek. (Photo by Alexandre Kordlouie.)
View and listen to the 1 minute video clip at the National Assembly- click here.
Several members of Les Amis du parc Meadowbrook were recently recognized by the Quebec National Assembly for the community organization’s 35 years of hard work to protect Meadowbrook golf course as green space. The group’s ultimate goal is to create a Meadowbrook urban nature park, accessible to all and to be connected through a greenway to a network of parks, including the falaise Saint-Jacques.
Désirée McGraw, M.N.A. for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, invited several members of the group to Quebec City, and she read a declaration in the National Assembly, thanking them for their courage and determination over the years. Following the reading of the declaration, the delegation members watched the question period and were invited to discuss the future of Meadowbrook in the M.N.A.’s office.
In 1989, the property’s original owner proposed building more than 2000 housing units on the property, and a group of citizens quickly organized opposition to the project. In 2006, the property, which lies partly in the borough of Lachine and partly in the City of Côte-St. Luc, was sold to development company Groupe Pacific for $3 million.
Over the years, supporters of Les Amis have successfully opposed several different development projects for the golf course. They have rallied on the steps of city hall, created a master plan for a park, written letters to the editors of local newspapers and presented briefs to city planning hearings. Finally, in 2015, the city’s updated urban plan resulted in changes and the property was zoned recreational green space.
The most recent issue involving Meadowbrook was a fight to prevent the burial of the historic Saint Pierre River where it crosses the golf course.
As McGraw told the group’s current volunteers, “Your courage and determination remind me of that famous quote by anthropologist Margaret Mead: ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’”
Regarding the Declaration of recognition, we thank M.N.A. McGraw and her team for a memorable day at the National Assembly.
As well, we want to especially thank all those individuals and groups who have contributed to our mission in so many ways over the past 35 years. We appreciate your passion and vision that have allowed the group to keep going to achieve our end goal!
Note: You can find out more about the history of Les Amis in the “Our Story” link, found on the green banner at the top of our website.
National Assembly Certificate honouring the work of Les Amis
