Tabling the brief document at the February council meeting, Mayor Karin Marks noted that one of council's medium-term goals had been to create a sustainability plan for the City of Westmount. This was initiated following a workshop council members attended at a recent Federation of Canadian Municipalities convention, at which many other cities across the country were pursuing the same objective.

"It's the first piece of having a plan," she said.

Last fall, the City organized its own workshops at Victoria Hall to consult residents for their ideas on the direction Westmount should pursue in its sustainable development plan. About 40 people attended each of the three sessions, which were chaired by Joshua Wolfe.

According to Marks, "there were a lot of words missing and and a lot of agreeing and disagreeing." She said the visioning statement should portray what Westmounters want in the future and that it should support goals and actions as a community.

"We've tried to create something that's both concise, but long enough to explain all the different themes that are included under the term sustainable development."

Now that the statement has been adopted, the elected officials will once again meet with residents who are part of specific sectors of the community, including students, seniors, business owners, religious groups and others, to hear if they have particular ideas for ongoing plans in those areas.

Marks said there will then be a general meeting to get ideas and input for developing a sustainable development action plan. "I think that's the part that most people are interested in participating in," she said.

"We want to look at some long-term actions, including questions of construction methods. How do we bring sustainability to that? What sort of things do we do to increase public health opportunities, including such things as healthy eating habits and healthy food in all of our public buildings.

"There's a vast array of things that I'm sure the people who participate will add to and will add all kinds of interesting ideas that we have not had. Our own staff will have ideas, as well, and I think together we'll be able to put forward a plan that will be a very exciting one for the future of our community."

Westmount's vision statement, as tabled at the February council meeting, is as follows:

Westmount strives for Sustainable Development, which relates to the fabric of our community, the natural environment, the economy, public health and our heritage.

Community vision: We build a sense of responsibility and engagement – toward each other, other communities, and the peoples of the rest of the world...

Environmental vision: We are stewards of the natural environment – locally, regionally and globally. We acknowledge the need to work creatively to balance human needs with those of the Earth’s ecosystems.

Economic vision: We are part of an environmentally and socially conscious economy based on the prudent and socially responsible use of natural and human resources.

Public health vision: We provide mutual respect, and support human health and dignity in all of its aspects: physical, mental and social.

Heritage vision: We appreciate a strong sense of place and history, and work to preserve our distinctive landscape and built environment so they can endure over time.

To realize this vision, our elected officials and city employees collaborate with all the people who live, work, and learn in Westmount in order to meet our present needs without compromising the future.