Four projects to enhance climate change resiliency in the Greater Montreal area

Montreal, Quebec — Investing in green infrastructure helps communities reduce their carbon footprint and increase their resilience to climate change. It also helps safeguard public health, protect the environment and create a clean-growth economy.

 

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and Vicki‑May Hamm, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), today announced  investments totaling nearly $2.8 million for four projects funded under the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program.

 

In Montreal, the Ruelles bleues-vertes project aims to relieve the pressure of rainwater on municipal infrastructure in the Sud-Ouest borough. The city’s underwater drainage network was not designed to handle the kinds of extreme rain events that are becoming more frequent, causing overflow and flooding. This project aims to redirect water from roof drains into alleyways and also planting vegetation.

 

For its part, the City of Boucherville is building a new environmentally responsible park-and-ride facility. The new lot, located at the intersection of de Montarville Boulevard and Highway 132 East, will have 230 spots and will facilitate and encourage the use of alternate, innovative and collective modes of transportation. The new parking lot will also foster a modal shift (single-occupant car-bus) during work on the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel, which is slated to begin in two years.

 

The City of Laval will be undertaking demineralization operations and planting more than 7,000 plants to help lower the surrounding temperature, reduce the impact of urban heat islands and thus help to protect vulnerable populations.

 

Lastly, the City of Beloeil will be integrating green infrastructure into the redevelopment of Duvernay Street to allow rainwater to filter naturally into the soil, lower ambient heat, and revitalize the commercial strip. The work includes planting 200 trees and installing urban furniture, two charging stations for electric vehicles, and bicycle racks to promote green travel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.