The small town of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, about 30 miles west of Montreal, recently became the first in Canada to sign onto the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights, initiated by Ricardo Rey and his founding organization La Compagnie des Papillons Bleus. Load YouTube videoFollowing the documentary, town members were offered the opportunity to sign on to the Universal Declaration, which has been accepted by tens of thousands of people worldwide. The town took it a step further, passing a resolution to adopt the principles enshrined in the declaration, and adding four rights for trees: the rights to life, natural growth, integrity and regeneration. While the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights does not, by itself, grant trees legal personhood or confer independent standing in court or grant a municipality legal rights, it does establish foundational principles that authorities can use to create new policies, practices and programs. Sylvie Trepanier joins host Robin Young to talk about what the Declaration will mean in her town and why the towns chose to support it.