The Order of Chartered Appraisers of Quebec (OEAQ) wishes to provide some insights and observations following the publication of the editorial by Philippe Mercure entitled “The end of recreation for expropriations”.
Like Mr. Mercure, the OEAQ welcomes the Quebec government’s approach aimed at modernizing the Expropriation Act which is 50 years old. Strongly a reform of the legislative framework as regards expropriation in order to adapt it to the stakes and realities of today.
Bill 22 tabled last week proposes, and rightly so, several measures that will clarify the relationship between the parties involved in an expropriation and establish new procedures. Because of its mission to protect the public and the practice of the thousand professionals subject to its Code of Ethics, the OEAQ intends to contribute to the debate and communicate its recommendations.
Some precisions
The manner in which compensation is established for expropriated persons raises many questions and must seek to strike the right balance. Here too we agree with Mr. Mercure. However, it is important to recall certain facts in order to balance the debate on this imminently sensitive subject. To affirm that the expropriated people in Quebec would have been in the middle of recreation and that we must “sound the end of the party for the expropriated people” seems unfair to us.
Ask the owners if they really think it is to win the lottery to be expropriated and they will answer you that they prefer, by far, to keep their house or their land. And they are ready to discuss with the cities or the ministries to find the best possible solution.
Approximately 95% of expropriation and acquisition by agreement files, even before the transmission of an expropriation notice, are settled by negotiation. Upstream procedures, rules and mechanisms are crucial in reducing the number of cases that end up in court. The OEAQ intends to issue recommendations so that an even lower rate can be achieved. We can never dwell too much on this important dimension.
For cases that land in the courts, it is wrong to say that they distribute compensation that has nothing to do with reality. The Administrative Tribunal of Québec, which is made up of seasoned jurists and chartered appraisers with extensive experience, sets the indemnities based on an in-depth analysis of the evidence and expert opinions filed and on case law developed from the decisions of the Administrative Tribunal, Superior Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada.
The Civil Code of Quebec is clear on this subject, the expropriated are entitled to “just and prior compensation”. And doctrine and case law in Quebec define a “just indemnity” as being “the exact equivalent of the expropriated thing which will allow the citizen affected by the expropriation to obtain an absolutely similar thing”.
So no enrichment or impoverishment.
“Value to owner”
The legal concept of “ownership value” is not a fuzzy concept. This has been tested over the years by judicial decisions of the high courts of the country. The value of land, which is established according to the principle “of the best and most profitable use that its owner could make of it”, constitutes one of the most important principles which is at the heart of the standards of professional practices of the OEAQ, the Appraisal Institute of Canada and international standards that guide appraisers.
Several sensational examples of compensation, apparently too high, have been quoted in the media lately without however providing the justifications leading to the sums granted and without explaining the concrete and real consequences on the expropriated persons if we were henceforth to use the principle of “market value “.
The OEAQ, whose mission is to guarantee the quality of the acts performed by the professionals subject to its Code of Ethics, many of whom estimate the compensation that should be paid both for expropriating bodies and for those expropriated, calls for a debate and a serious discussion on this subject which affects all Quebecers.