MONTREAL -- Doctors and health professionals are calling on Quebec to go greener.
Over 600 doctors, along with an additional 600 health professionals and various partners are asking the government of Quebec, in the form of a petition, for financial aid in the "green" urban development of Montreal infrastructure.
At a press conference held Thursday at the CHUM, doctors asked for an annual 1 per cent of the infrastructure budget, or approximately $170 million, to plant trees and develop more green spaces near schools, hospitals, and on city streets. Doctors believe this will lower health costs, while improving people's health in turn.
"Greening the environment decreases cancers, heart disease and pulmonary disease. It should be a central measure to a positive health scope" said Dr. Claudel Pétrin-Desrosiers, President of the Quebec Association of Physicians for the Environment.
The doctors believe this green initiative could save $1 billion annually or even more in the health sector.
Centraide, Hydro-Québec, and the David Suzuki Foundation are amongst the partners included in the petition.
