By Michael Boriero
Local Journalism Initiative
Nine conservation groups gathered in Rougemont Tuesday to announce the creation of a coalition, which aims to protect biodiversity in Quebec’s Monteregian Hills, a landscape that stretches through Montreal, the Monteregie and the Eastern Townships.
According to Chrystiane Collette, president of the Association du Mont Rougemont, this has been in the works for several years. Although each organization is unique, they share similar challenges and concerns, Collette explained, which led them to bond together.
“We want to be part of the decision-makers, we want to be at the table where the decisions are made, not just trying to have influence and everything. If there is a decision that has to be made, or there is a project, we want to be there and talk with them at the same level,” she said.
Collette told The Record that rather than tackling these issues as small individual organizations, with complaints often falling through the cracks of bureaucracy, the coalition will now carry more weight when it files a report or speaks out about environmental problems.
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