On Friday, April 8, 2022 at 12:00 pm, Alex Tyrrell, leader of the Green Party of Quebec, accompanied by Halimatou Bah, deputy leader of the Green Party of Quebec and Jamie D’Souza, candidate in Rosemont, went in front of the Saint-Hubert airport in Longueuil, near the riding of Marie-Victorin where Alex Tyrrell is running in the by-election. He demonstrated against the expansion and the arrival of more flights but also against the destruction of farmland surrounding the airport.
Alex Tyrrell is an eco-socialist activist who was elected leader of the Green Party of Quebec in 2013 at the age of 25. He holds a B.Sc. in Environmental Science from Concordia University as well as a college degree from Dawson College in Mechanical Engineering Technology. Under his leadership, the Green Party of Quebec has positioned itself on the left of the Quebec political scene, while adopting a comprehensive program for Quebec, the new Green Plan, which contains progressive proposals on all issues of Quebec politics.
The leader of the Green Party of Quebec insisted: “All over the world, flights generate massive amounts of greenhouse gases. These emissions contribute to climate change and prevent countries from reaching their emission reduction targets. Air travel is the most energy-intensive form of transportation. Our over-reliance on air travel has slowed the development of high-speed rail and long-distance mass transit. Despite all this, DASH-L, the company that owns and operates St. Hubert Airport, is pushing hard for massive airport expansion.”
Halimatou Bah then confirmed the party leader’s words, “We do not need a second airport, the Mirabel airport fiasco should have served as a lesson. It is important to remember that an airport has a significant impact on its environment, in addition to the noise pollution that such an airport causes on the quality of life of the surrounding residents, air transport is among the factors that increase the most our emission of greenhouse gases and slows down the energy transition. If we want to go further for the environment and meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals, we should drastically limit air travel.”
Jamie D’souza added: “Tourism emissions are 8% overall and that’s all because of airplanes, […] we need to focus on our impact on the environment and have more options in sustainable transportation.”
Alex Tyrrell concluded, “Governments should not support, fund or allow this project to continue. A vote for the Green Party of Quebec is a vote to oppose the expansion of the St. Hubert airport and to work to reduce our dependence on air travel by investing in high-speed rail and greener forms of transportation.”
