This text is part of the special section Municipalities
Confirmed in her position as Minister of Municipal Affairs following her re-election in October 2022, Andrée Laforest wishes to continue to introduce a new vision of land use planning in Quebec, while better protecting elected municipal officials.
Andrée Laforest has been Minister of Municipal Affairs for four and a half years now. Casually, it is the longest stay in this position since Bona Dussault (National Union), who occupied it for nearly nine years, between 1944 and 1953. “This longevity has made it possible to create an interesting stability, and I’m quite happy with what we’ve managed to accomplish in four and a half years,” said the MNA for Chicoutimi.
Sustainability is not the prerogative of all elected municipal officials. Some have quit in recent years, worn down by the intimidation they have been subjected to. More recently, the mayor of Wickham, Ian Lacharité, and his successor, Charles-Antoine Fauteux, left their posts within a few weeks of each other due to threats against them and their families. The year before, it was the mayor of Abercorn and three of his councilors who quit the game for similar reasons.
Last Tuesday, the Minister of Municipal Affairs therefore launched a plan against the intimidation of elected municipal officials in an attempt to counter this scourge. In 2021, the government had already put forward an action plan to promote respect and civility and protect municipal democracy. “I feel close to elected municipal officials, so I’m sure I remain very sensitive to this problem,” she confides.
The new plan includes 11 measures to combat bullying. It was developed in collaboration with the Union of Quebec Municipalities and the Quebec Federation of Municipalities. These two bodies were asking for financial assistance to provide elected officials with better insurance or to help them pay legal costs. The plan will devote $2 million to it. It also provides for an advertising campaign about the importance of the work of elected municipal officials.
Better plan land use
Among the achievements of which she is most proud, Andrée Laforest cites the first National Policy on Architecture and Land Use Planning (PNAAT), unveiled in June 2022. The previous year, the Minister had launched a “national conversation to create a more coherent vision of land use planning in Quebec. “This is important work, because it involves preserving the territory for future generations, by focusing on greater protection of natural environments, water and agricultural land, for example, and by strengthening our adaptation climate change,” she says.
Bill 16 (PL 16), tabled by the Minister last March, aims to modernize the legislative framework so that municipalities can more easily achieve the objectives of the Policy. “We have launched several programs and invested a lot of money, but we must ensure that the regulatory framework meets the needs of municipalities, particularly in land use planning and housing,” maintains the Minister.
If the project is adopted, the municipalities will see some of their land use planning powers enhanced. They could, for example, use incentive zoning, which would enable them to obtain public interest commitments from a real estate developer in exchange for certain advantages, such as the right to construct additional floors in a building. They would also gain the power to temporarily control development for reasons related to the supply of drinking water or the treatment of waste water.
The bill also provides for an acceleration of government orientations, as well as the creation of national and regional indicators to measure the progress made. Bill 16 notably proposes carrying out a review every five years. Some, including the Ordre des urbanistes du Québec (OUQ) and the Alliance Ariane, have however expressed concern that this assessment would be the direct responsibility of the minister. The OUQ suggests instead entrusting this responsibility to a new non-partisan body in order to reduce the risk of political pressure.
Water management
More recently, the Quebec government launched the new Municipal Water Infrastructure Program (PRIMEAU) by providing it with an envelope of $2.4 billion. These subsidies will finance drinking water and wastewater infrastructure works in the municipalities. An amount of $1 billion is reserved for large cities, and another, $1.4 billion, will be used for localities with less than 100,000 inhabitants. Since 2018, the Quebec government has invested $1.8 billion to support infrastructure projects of this type. He now wants each municipality to adopt a water asset management plan by 2026.
“When we came to power, there was a maintenance deficit of $40 billion in water infrastructure, which could have been avoided with better planning,” the minister deplores. Municipalities will now have to adopt such planning, and we will reward those who demonstrate good practices in this area. »
Support small municipalities
For several years, several municipalities, especially in regions farther from major centers such as Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie, have been fighting against devitalization. Their population is aging, businesses are becoming scarce (even some essential businesses, such as grocery stores and convenience stores), and they often have to fight to keep their schools (when they have one).
During the election campaign, François Legault promised to devote $470 million over four years to support local services, such as food markets in small municipalities. They can already benefit from aid through the Regions and Rurality Fund (FRR). The FRR succeeded, in 2020, the Support Fund for Regional Outreach (FARR). “Its envelope of nearly $1.3 billion over five years is used to support a multitude of projects in small municipalities,” summarizes Andrée Laforest.
The FRR is one of the financial levers of the government strategy to ensure the occupation and vitality of the territories, the renewal of which will also occupy Minister Laforest over the coming months. In April 2022, the Council of Ministers decided to postpone the revision of the 2018-2022 version. This could continue to apply until the end of 2024.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.