4 July 2006
Activists Say Cote St. Luc Herbicides Use is Off-Track
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Cote St. Luc environment activists Jack Cabot and Avrum Shtern are
concerned about chemicals used by the railways to keep tracks clear of vegetation.
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Montreal Quebec - Environmental activists are sounding the
alarm over the use of herbicides by Canada's railways to keep train tracks free of weeds in Cote St. Luc where rail traffic is an
everyday fact of life.
Answering questions in Cote St. Luc city council last month from Jack Cabot of Kingsley Avenue and Avrum Shtern of Baily Road, Mayor
Anthony Housefather said there is virtually no action that can be taken locally because the railways' activities are confined to
closed-off areas regulated by the federal government.
"Perhaps you can convince them to notify at least those people who live along the railway when they're going to spray so people
living along the railway can take precautions, close their windows or even not be in the backyard?" said Shtern, whose own rear
yard is adjacent to the main rail line that passes through Cote St. Luc.
Although he acknowledged that many substances today "could potentially cause damage or cancer," Housefather told Shtern,
"While I very much appreciate the desire for strict use of herbicides and pesticides, in this case my understanding from the
railway... is we're speaking of a very limited area." He said that beyond asking the railways to publicly announce when they are
applying herbicides, "I don't think that we have very much that we can do here."
Cabot claimed, "The railroads are hiding behind the skirts of the federal government. They are poisoning the country. The whole
country, not only Cote St. Luc. Montreal and everywhere else... What I would like to hear tonight is that some action will be taken to
stop the railroads. I know we can't do it this summer, but for future summers. And we should be doing that as quickly as we can."
Housefather told Cabot, "In terms of the CP tracks, they are spraying in a very limited radius around the tracks. The railroads...
are not regulated in certain respects by municipal bylaws. They are a federally-chartered entity."
Regarding interventions on railway issues made to the federal government by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (of which Cote St.
Luc is a member), Housefather said Cote St. Luc might submit a proposition to the FCM next year, seeking an amendment to Canada's
railway regulation policy.
"My understanding is that their policy is asking the federal government to amend the railway act to allow municipal bylaws to
predominate in areas that municipalities are responsible for," he said. "There's nothing about the policy itself that needs
to be changed in order to comply with what you're asking.
"The real question is whether the federal government will do it," he added. "And for the federal government to do it,
the lobbying of the municipality is not the right place. It has to be lobbying of the federal government. And the person to speak to in
this area is Irwin Cotler who's the federal member of Parliament - not to local Cote St. Luc council."
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