Environment Minister Benoit Charette chose his moment to release the report of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change on Quebec Land Use Planning, a report he received a little over a month. The Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) is holding its annual meeting in Quebec City this week and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest, will give an overview of its architecture policy on Friday before this audience of mayors. and land use planning that she is due to present later this spring.
The report of the advisory committee, made up of scientists, academics and ecologists, establishes a direct and “fundamental” link between land use planning and the fight against climate change. There are several recommendations to curb urban sprawl in order to preserve and restore natural environments and thus stop the “artificialization of southern Quebec”.
Opposing the orientations of the CAQ government, the committee recommends that no new highway project be authorized in the six metropolitan regions of Quebec, therefore not only in Montreal and Quebec, but also in Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières. and Saguenay. Even if the committee does not mention the elephant in the room, i.e. the third link, it is clear that this addition to freeway capacity should not occur unless the reduction of urban sprawl just wishful thinking.
There are several ways to measure urban sprawl, ranging from the distance traveled between home and work to an index of urban density. The report notes that urban sprawl, as a function of relative population density, decreased slightly in the Greater Toronto Area, an agglomeration twice as compact as Montreal, but that it increased by 19% from 2006 to 2016 in the Quebec City region and 11% in the Montreal region. The phenomenon is present not only in these two major centres, but also throughout Quebec.
When the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, in presenting the new version of the third link, described urban densification as a “fashion” which often did not suit young families, he aroused a strong reaction from the municipal world. Mentalities are changing. The construction of single-family homes on virgin lots is perceived by several mayors — not all of them, of course — as a model that has had its day.
The recent election of several new mayors is blowing a “wind of change”, told The Press the president of the UMQ and mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté, whether Catherine Fournier in Longueuil, Stéphane Boyer in Laval, France Bélisle in Gatineau, or Bruno Marchand in Quebec, to name a few. The fight against climate change, in which municipalities have a crucial role to play, is now part of the concerns of this new guard. Urban densification responds to ecological imperatives by preserving natural environments and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it also improves the quality of life of citizens.
No offense to François Bonnardel, the 20-storey “condo tower” is not the only model of urban densification. Minister Andrée Laforest pointed this out to the National Assembly on Tuesday. “There is a way to build differently,” she said, multi-unit housing, townhouses, multigenerational homes.
Changing the land use planning regime, and replacing the current law, adopted 43 years ago, is essential in the context of the fight against climate change. But it is a complex exercise. Politically, the views of different mayors can be difficult to reconcile. Ten years ago, Laurent Lessard, then Minister of Municipal Affairs, broke his teeth with his draft law on sustainable regional development and urban planning. Citizens are not on the same page, either. The conversion of multi-family homes to duplexes and triplexes, for example, often arouses strong opposition. Densification is not free of constraints and disadvantages.
In addition, the new land-use planning regime involves major changes in terms of taxation and the powers of intervention of municipalities. The government that will tackle this task will have to show vision, but also unwavering determination.