A misguided petition to protect the trees

If one were to judge by the comments of the woman who presented the petition, the people who signed it were under the impression that the borough had decided to chop down those trees. As it stands, the complaints were unjustified, because no one at the borough council was aware of such a project. Mayor Claude Trudel reminded the people present that chopping down trees is a last resort and is only authorized when no other solution can be found. Trees that are chopped down are trees that threaten the public's safety or cannot be treated for an illness.

Those involved with the petition supported their claim with a list that indicated the total of mature trees. They thought that it indicated the list of trees to be chopped down; when in fact it identified the trees for pruning.

Councillor André Savard, who resides in the area, offered more details regarding the tree markings. "Usually, we identify the trees by their position with regards to the civic number of a nearby building. In this case, the trees are near a park and we needed to designate them in a precise manner and that's why we numbered them," he explained.

The woman who submitted the petition seemed reassured by the council's response. However, she claimed not to be satisfied with the way the borough proceeded with the tree pruning. Mayor Trudel was surprised with her remark, but promised to look into the matter.