UNESCO World Heritage Site status sought for Mount Royal
Mount Royal is 'a place of outstanding value among Canadians,' says Heritage Montreal spokesman
Montreal's Mount Royal might be a lovely place to hang on a languid summer day, but does it have what it takes to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre thinks so, and he repeated his desire to see it achieve that level of recognition Wednesday.
The distinction would put the city's mountain with its iconic illuminated cross in the same class as Canada's 18 World Heritage Sites, which include Quebec City's old town, Nova Scotia's Lunenburg, SGang Gwaay on Haida Gwaii in British Columbia and the Rideau Canal.
To be recognized as a World Heritage Site, Mount Royal would have to be deemed to have "Outstanding Universal Value" in accordance with UNESCO criteria.
Protecting the mountain
Dinu Bumbaru, policy director of Heritage Montreal, said his organization is happy to have Coderre leading the campaign for UNESCO status.
"We've been quite interested in this and it's great to see the mayor committing to this," he said.
"Mount Royal is a place of outstanding value among Canadians, and we can't imagine Montreal without it."
Bumbaru said one benefit of World Heritage Site status would be the pressure it would put on the City of Montreal to ensure the mountain's protection.
The first step is to get Mount Royal on Canada's tentative list of World Heritage Sites, which is maintained by the federal government through Parks Canada.
Last July, Parks Canada announced it was updating the list and issued a call for applications that ends this Friday, Jan. 27.
Bumbaru said his organization has been working with city officials since the update was first announced to get the complex application together.
"We can make it," he said of the looming deadline.