Letters to the editor

Westmount’s chainsaw massacre



To the editor:

On Saturday, Nov. 25, my wife and I were coming back from walking our dog at Summit Park; as we sometimes do, we came through Sunnyside Park at the bottom of belvedere.

The scene we witnessed was one of the saddest in my experience…like something out the film ‘L’erreur boréale’, but in one of the most delightful and peaceful parks in Westmount. All the trees (it didn’t seem like there was one tree left alive) had been cut and left there. We just could not believe it: an environmentalists’ worst nightmare had taken place on Westmount the Good.

We tried to rationalize: could the park be privately owned and the owner had done a quick job reminiscent of the demolition of the Van Horne mansion? We have since learned that our very own mayor sanctioned this travesty, I assume with the support of city council.

Nothing can justify such an action. The great French writer, Jean Giono, gave us ‘L’homme qui plantait des arbres’; will Karin Marks be remembered as ‘The mayor who cut down trees’? Come to think of it, perhaps our parks and green spaces would be better preserved if we were part of Montreal.

Sylvain Lalonde

Kitchener Avenue



Sunnyside Park needed to be refurbished



To the editor:

For those who have expressed concern or have questioned why we have chosen to restore Sunnyside Park, a look at this photo of the Park as it was some 25 years ago will clearly show what inspired us to undertake this restoration.

Since that time, the park, even with repeated pruning, has become overgrown, dark and actually unsafe. In 2003, we invested over half a million dollars in the refurbishing of the actual belvedere and now we are redoing the landscape, the pathways, the

seating, and the lighting.

Of the trees which were cut down, the vast majority were less than eight inches in diameter and of those which were more mature, several contained serious rot and were dangerous.

City Councillor George Bowser, who is the commissioner of parks, wrote an article in The Examiner on Oct. 26 explaining that we would be doing this restoration. We, as a council, made the decision to invest in this park and return it to its former glory. It is a piece of our heritage which we value and which must be restored as we have done with the library, Victoria Hall and many other of our facilities. In the spring, we will be replanting with varieties of trees which will not grow in the same helter skelter manner and which will remain low enough to maintain the magnificent view from the belvedere built in 1932 to highlight Westmount’s panorama.

When the job is completed, I think we will have yet another jewel of which we can be proud.

Karin Marks

Mayor of Westmount





Was so much cutting really necessary?



To the editor:

A couple of weeks ago, The Examiner had an article by City Councillor George Bowser about plans by the City to have some of the trees in the wooded area underneath the lookout. The idea was that by pruning and removing some unhealthy trees, the view from the summit would be improved.

I am sorry to say that I am shocked with what the City actually did. It should not have been necessary to clear-cut such a large

number of mature, healthy trees in order to improve the view.

Trees, properly pruned, can allow light as well as shade and can enhance a view. I wonder if Westmount is becoming anti-nature. The proposal for artificial grass on Westmount Park would suggest this.

Is a quick fix with artificial solutions seen as the way to go today?

Anna O’ Connor

Lewis Avenue



Edyth Germain made a huge contribution



To the editor:

I cannot let the recent death of Edyth Germain pass without drawing the attention of everyone in Westmount to how much she did for this city.

Because she left us 15 years ago to retire with her husband to a quiet village in Ontario, only our older residents may remember the days back in the 1980s when she, more than any individual, pioneered an arts program in Westmount.

Long before the City contributed a penny or showed the slightest interest in its artists, writers and performers, she managed to put together a week each year where we showed off our home talent. She scoured stores and individuals for the necessary funds, used her home on Côte St. Antoine Road for receptions and meetings, organized the volunteers who welcomed, ushered and guarded exhibits—and got me to run for mayor back in 1987.

I didn’t expect to win. Westmount did not go in for electing its mayors. They were chosen by the city council, which was chosen by the Westmount Municipal Association. I hoped only that maybe the incoming government would pay attention to the arts, i.e. community activities centered around the triplex of the Library, in desperate need of renewal, the greenhouse and Victoria Hall. The latter was so little used back then, except for weekend weddings, its basement was readily handed over to the Westmount Manoir to serve as its dining room.

While some may still feel that getting me to run and helping me get elected were the least of Edyth Germain’s achievements, every Westmounter who lines up to register for any of the dozens of activities, from bridge for adults to karate for kids, that fill all its rooms every weeknight, owe her a debt.

Her pioneering changed our city and I hope her name will be added to the Westmount honor role in our city hall.

May Cutler

Former mayor of Westmount