The Superior Court invalidated a by-law on the use of weapons adopted in 2010 by the City of Mascouche which had the effect of prohibiting hunting on the entire territory of the municipality. The court finds that a municipality cannot prohibit hunting, an activity authorized by the provincial government.
It was a farmer, Jean-Guy Ouellette, who had addressed the Court to challenge this regulation which prevented him from controlling the population of wild animals which caused damage to his crops. In November 2013, Mr. Ouellette helped his son eviscerate a freshly slaughtered deer on his land. Although Mr. Ouellette holds the necessary hunting licenses and his weapons are registered, the police intervened and gave them a statement of offense invoking by-law 1153 adopted by the municipality of Mascouche in 2010.
This by-law stipulates that the use of a weapon is authorized in Mascouche, but only at a distance greater than one kilometer from any public place, building, private land, electrical transformer station, power line, railway and any city bordering the City. In fact, this by-law prohibits hunting on the entire territory of Mascouche.
Jean-Guy Ouellette addressed the court because he was of the opinion that the City of Mascouche had exceeded its powers and that several articles of the by-law were “unreasonable” and came into conflict with the federal law on firearms, as well as the provincial legislation governing hunting.
Geese, deer and other beasts
In court, Mr. Ouellette explained that the geese were not shy about feeding on the seeds spread in the fall and that the only effective way to drive them away was to scare them away. He had also obtained a migratory nuisance bird hunting permit from the federal government.
But Canada geese are not the only animals to appreciate Mr. Ouellette’s fields. Thus white-tailed deer have become accustomed to grazing soybeans and corn, the farmer argued in court. For their part, beavers gnaw corn stalks and use them to build their dams. Muskrats pierce drainage pipes and damage soils, while raccoons gnaw canes and corn cobs and groundhogs “love” soy “which they eat at will”.
Without a firearm, it is not possible to scare these animals away, Mr. Ouellette argued in court.
Increase security
The City had adopted the by-law after receiving complaints from users of pedestrian and equestrian trails about the presence of hunters. It believed that it had the competence to adopt security regulations and considered that it had acted within its jurisdiction with its weapons regulations.
In a decision rendered last Friday, Judge Charles Bienvenu agreed with Jean-Guy Ouellette. “Municipalities can […] add to the safety rules provided for in provincial standards. However, these additional measures cannot prohibit any hunting activity on their territory, when possible and authorized by the Minister, subject to imperative justification,” he concludes.
The judge invalidated three articles of the regulation. However, he suspended the application of his decision for a period of six months in order to allow the City to review its regulations “while preserving social tranquility”.
The City of Mascouche still does not know whether it will appeal the judgment. Tuesday, she did not want to comment on the file.
For her part, Me Isabelle Landry, who represents Mr. Ouellette, said she was satisfied with the judge’s decision. Cities have the right to pass bylaws to keep them safe, but not to control hunting, she notes. “They certainly cannot prohibit hunting on the whole territory either, which was the case of Mascouche. »
Even if, in recent years, her client has not been able to resort to hunting to try to prevent the ravages of wild animals, the lawyer maintains that Mr. Ouellette has still been able to continue to exercise his profession of farmer. “But certainly he suffered damage during those years,” she said.