Montreal Park Forum – Panel on Equity and Environmental Justice in Montreal

The arts, sciences and the environment all intersect in the life of Jérôme Dupras. Following a PhD in Geography and a post-doctorate in Biology, he teaches in the Department of Natural Sciences of the Université du Québec en Outaouais, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Ecological Economics. On the Francophone music scene, he is a member of the well-known band called the Cowboys Fringants. He is active in numerous environmental causes and is, among other things, Chair of the Fondation des Cowboys Fringants, a co-founder of the Mouvement Ceinture Verte, a founder of Artistes pour le climat and a columnist with CKOI radio.

Graduate from Lionel-Groulx College in 2017, Lourdenie is passionate about social sciences, mainly sociology, psychology and anthropology. She is currently strengthening her experience in the field by working in the community sector. In the past few years, she invested her time into personal projects as well, such as L’environnement, c’est intersectionnel (The environment is intersectional), an initiative that combines arts, social engagement and popular education.
Intersectional feminist, speaker and community-worker, she focus on anything that touches sociology, inclusion, and social justice.

Anne Pelletier has worked at the Direction régionale de santé publique of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (Regional Public Health Department of the Integrated University Centre for Health and Social Services) since 2008, in the Environnement urbain et saines habitudes de vie (Urban Environment and Healthy Living) department. She holds a Master’s and a B.A. in Kinesiology from Université de Montréal. Her interests include the health impacts of active transportation and the design of active cities. In particular, she contributed to the development of the draft versions of PPASSAGE, a tool that can be used to assess walkability. She has led and contributed to a number of research projects linking public health and urban planning, one of the most recent of which addresses the issue of the accessibility of Montréal parks.

Michel Lafleur has lived in the Villeray neighbourhood for almost 30 years. Convinced of the positive impact of green spaces on the quality of life of the residents, he has been an active member of the Coalition des amis du parc Jarry since its inception in 2004, and has been its Chair since 2010. His journey of civic engagement is a source of inspiration for many!

Karel Mayrand is the President and CEO of the Foundation of Greater Montréal. Before that, he has been for twelve years Director General for Quebec and the Atlantic with the David Suzuki Foundation, and chair of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project in Canada. He is also Vice-President of the board of Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau. Karel is co-author of Demain, le Québec (Éditions La Presse, 2018), author of Une Voix pour la Terre (Boréal, 2012), co-author of Ne renonçons à rien (Lux, 2017) with the Faut qu’on se parle collective. He frequently contributes columns and op eds for l’Actualité and La Presse.