TERRASSE-VAUDREUIL — More than two weeks after quietly making history, a small Quebec municipality is drawing attention for becoming what it says is the first community in Canada to officially recognize trees as living beings with rights of their own.The Town of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, about 40 kilometres west of Montreal, adopted the resolution on June 9, recognizing trees as sentient living beings with inherent rights by endorsing the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Trees.The municipality and the International Observatory of Nature’s Rights say the move is a first in Quebec and Canada.The resolution followed a community screening of Des arbres et des arts (Trees and the Arts), a documentary by filmmaker André Desrochers that sparked debate over whether trees should be recognized as living beings rather than objects.“With this film, I took on the challenge of helping to transform our ‘egocentric’ vision into an ‘ecocentric’ community, where humans recognize themselves as an integral part of life rather than its centre,” Desrochers said in a municipal news release..The proposal was later brought before council by the Terrasse-Vaudreuil Environment Committee.Mayor Michel Bourdeau said the resolution is intended to translate into practical environmental action.“This recognition will be accompanied by concrete programs aimed at protecting our tree canopy, planting trees, and raising public awareness of their importance,” Bourdeau said.The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Trees was launched in 2018 in response to global deforestation. It is based on three core principles — that trees are sentient living beings and a common good of humanity, that life on Earth depends on their existence, and that humans have a duty to act toward them “in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity.”The declaration’s petition has attracted more than 87,000 signatures worldwide.Yenny Vega Cárdenas, president of the International Observatory of Nature’s Rights, called the resolution an example of municipalities taking a leadership role in environmental protection.“We hope that Terrasse-Vaudreuil will be the first of many municipalities to commit to this path,” she said.The decision follows other efforts in Canada to extend legal recognition to nature. In 2021, Quebec’s Magpie River was granted legal personhood by the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit and the regional municipality of Minganie, recognizing rights including the ability to flow naturally, remain free from pollution and maintain its biodiversity.
