Canadian Town Says Trees Have “Right to Life,” But Okay to Kill Babies in Abortions

A small Quebec town has become the first municipality in Canada to grant trees a formal “right to life,” even as unborn babies continue to be killed through abortion across the country.

On June 9, the council of Terrasse-Vaudreuil — a community of about 2,000 people west of Montreal — unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing trees as living beings worthy of protection, “including the right to life, to natural growth, to integrity and to regeneration.”

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The town signed on to the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Tree, making it the first municipality in Quebec and Canada to take this step.

Mayor Michel Bourdeau compared trees directly to human beings.

“A tree is like a human being. It breathes, it lives, it takes in water. It protects us from all sorts of things,” he said.

Bourdeau added that when it comes to fighting climate change, “our biggest ally is the trees.”

The resolution was inspired by Quebec filmmaker André Desrochers’ documentary Des arbres et des arts, which presents trees as living entities that breathe and communicate even though they are nothing like human beings in that regard.

The council will review existing bylaws to strengthen protections for trees or require replacements when they are cut down. The town also plans to increase its tree canopy by offering trees to residents for planting. Residents have responded positively, and the measure is not expected to interfere with development.

This local decision aligns with broader efforts to extend legal-style rights to trees and nature. A University of Sussex toolkit, for example, promotes rights for trees that include “the right to live out their natural life cycles and, where decline or death is inevitable, to die in situ with dignity.”

While the town affirms a “right to life” for trees and likens them to human beings, Canada continues to permit the killing of unborn babies through abortion.