Some West Island residents are up in arms after Hydro Quebec chopped down dozens of trees which it deemed potentially dangerous.
“My heart is bleeding. I've been here for 27 years. In front of my own unit, I’m losing 10 trees. I’m losing my shade. I’m losing the birds and the squirrels who won't have anywhere to nest,” said Dollard des Ormeaux resident Nicole Versailles.
However Hydro Quebec maintained that it had no other choice, as people below could have been endangered because the trees could act as electircal conductors.
“If there's electric arcing that means electricity will leave cables to go to the ground through the trees and that is very dangerous if there is a bystander close to that tree,” said Hydro Quebec representative Jean-Philippe Rousseau.
“It’s dangerous because it can kill people on the ground, start fires or cause major power outages,” he said.
Some residents wondered whether some other arrangement could have been found to preserve the beloved arbor.
“Why was it not a security problem last year, or the year before, we never heard a word about it and suddenly it's a problem?” asked resident Beatriz Polanski.
