The sale of the CAP-Alright lighthouse by producer and animator Julie Snyder arouses strong reactions from the Madelinots who fear for their heritage. Several residents believe that the community should acquire the site.
The amount requested for the purchase of the lighthouse and the 296,653 square feet plot is $ 595,000. The question of the heritage of the Islands-de-la-Madeleine is at the heart of the discussions that the sale occurs, in particular because the land is zoned residential.
The sale sheet of the Centris platform indicates that the land is located in a panoramic corridor where it is possible to build a house and a garage style dependence
. Julie Snyder owned the lighthouse through the company’s flagship company for 12 years.
It touches us enormously, what is happening now. It’s going at high speed. Barely two weeks ago, it was the mounds of the young ladies, and there it is the lighthouse. It’s part of our cultural heritage, it’s part of the landscape. It’s our story
underlined the Madelinian storyteller Richard pruning in an interview on the program Good foot, early! Friday morning.
The Richard Slum
Photo : Radio-Canada / Kim Bergeron
Ms. Richard fears, among other things, to see real estate subdivision in this emblematic place and appreciated by the population.
The La Madeleine islands conservation company wishes to find a solution so that the community can acquire this place. To get there, she seeks to establish collaborations with organizations such as the municipality or as organizations that specialize in built heritage.
We immediately started discussions and reflections on the board of directors to find solutions and to see if [la conservation du site] is something that will be possible
explains Véronique Déraspe, president of the board of directors of the Société de Conservation des Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
Important heritage
Since 2012, several efforts have been made to ensure the preservation and enhancement of the headlights in the Islands-de-la-Madeleine.
The CAP-Alright lighthouse was recognized as a heritage building by the municipality of the Ile-de-la-Madeleine in 2006 and as a heritage site by the Government of Canada in 2015.
A private buyer could therefore be built a property in the land put up for sale, but he could not decide to demolish the lighthouse without authorization. This kind of decision must first be approved by the municipal council.
The CAP-Alright lighthouse may be the smallest building of the genre in the archipelago, but it occupies a large place in the collective memory. (Archives photo)
Photo : Radio-Canada / Isabelle Larose
Voices also rise to notify that this large natural space must be preserved, because it is rich in biodiversity.
It is to preserve local biodiversity. We tend to look for different types of environments, whether it is fields, whether it is mounds, whether wet environments, forests, cliffs, coastal edges
argues Véronique Déraspe.
The storyteller and proud Madelinot Cédric Landry affirms that he does not oppose what there is residential subdivision in the islands, but he believes that it is necessary to find a happy medium, without the lifestyle of residents being undermined.
The storyteller Madelinot Cédric Landry
Photo: Photo offered by Cédric Landry
All our youth, our life, we saw these spaces free and accessible to all. It is more these corners that come to hurt, to see plots of private land or things of the same
he specifies.
Discuss to find a solution
The enlarge artist Richard believes that the population must not wait to see these natural spaces disappear before reacting.
It has to start with islanders, the people. People have to get up and say: that’s enough!
she launches.
The deputy of the Islands-de-la-Madeleine, Joël Arseneau, underlines that he was more than surprised by the sale of the lighthouse. He believes he needs to step back to think about a solution.
I therefore ask Julie Snyder to temporarily suspend the sales process so that we can generate the time necessary to consult, mobilize the living forces of the community, reflect and develop with the actors a project
he wrote on his Facebook page.
According to the Quebec Cadastre register, the land was sold to Julie Snyder in 2013 at a cost of $ 125,000.
Julie Snyder did not wish to grant an interview for the moment.