Mr. Prime Minister, your government recently expressed its intention to acquire the 271.7 hectares of land held by the Rabaska Limited Partnership in Lévis. These lands, let us remember, had been taken from the agricultural territory of Quebec as well as from the authority of the Commission for the Protection of the Agricultural Territory of Quebec (CPTAQ) by an ill-advised government decree in 2007.
For too long, the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) and other actors in society have been insistently demanding the return of land evicted from the agricultural heritage of Lévis. The upcoming acquisition of Rabaska land by your government now constitutes, Mr. Prime Minister, a golden opportunity to repair the affront and repatriate the 271.7 hectares of land to the permanent agricultural zone of Quebec, under the custody of the CPTAQ.
Here is the reason:
Memorandum of Understanding
A memorandum of understanding exists between the UPA and Rabaska. It is known as the Memorandum of Understanding between the Kennedy UPA Union and the Rabaska Limited Partnership. Signed by the parties on July 7, 2007, the text governs the various aspects of the Rabaska Project affecting the agricultural sector and clearly provides that if the project is abandoned, Rabaska will take the necessary measures to restore the land to its agricultural vocation.
It is provided in article 12 of the document that: “The provisions of this protocol bind or, as the case may be, benefit the Parties and their successors and assigns. » We read that “Rabaska may assign all of the rights and obligations arising hereunder in favor of any person to the extent that the assignee undertakes in writing at the time of the assignment to assume all of the commitments entered into. by Rabaska to the UPA and in such a case Rabaska will be released from all its obligations and all commitments resulting herefrom. » (Protocol, p. 9)
Addendum
An addendum was added to the memorandum of understanding between the UPA and Rabaska on September 30, 2013 to specify Rabaska’s commitment regarding the measures to be taken to ensure the return of land to the agricultural zone in the event of the abandonment of the project.
“Non-realization of the Rabaska project: In the event that Rabaska decides not to follow through on its project to build an LNG port on the targeted lots, it undertakes to carry out, jointly with the Kennedy UPA Union , an approach to the Government of Quebec aimed at the adoption of a decree having the effect of re-including in the agricultural zone the lots totaling an approximate surface area of 271.7 hectares covered by government decrees numbers 863-2007 and 917-227…” (Addendum, p. 3)
Question
The government of Quebec, in place of Rabaska and as assignee, has the obligation to assume the commitments contained in the memorandum of understanding concluded with the UPA, so that the entire 271.7 hectares of land is returned to the Quebec agricultural zone and placed in the custody of the CPTAQ. Does he intend to respect his contractual commitments?