SEDRD as part of a SSHRC funded project hosts researchers from across Canada (May 20-22) studying Agricultural Land Use planning practices. Agricultural Land Use Planning in Quebec, in the RCM of Haut-Richelieu and the RCM of Roussilon

1. Agricultural Land Use Planning in Canada: A
Study of Principles and Beneficial Practices for
Integrating Public Priorities for Agriculture and
Food across Jurisdictions
Meeting: Guelph University
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Cherine Akkari (MSc, Department of Geography, University
of Montreal)
Director: Christopher Bryant
Co-director: Claude Marois

2. Outline
1) General Introduction
2) The Context of Québec (croplands + soils having agricultural potential)
3) Brief description of the Provincial Legislation: the Agricultural zoning Law in Québec (history + purpose +
some contradictions)
4) Brief summary: CAAAQ (la Commission sur l’avenir de l’agriculture et de l’agroalimentaire québécois), 2008
5) Case study: The RCM of le Haut-Richelieu (location + the status of farms and farmers)
6) Local legislations: Land Use Planning and Development Plan (RCM) + Urban Plan (municipalities)
7) References

3. Introduction
 Formulating and implementing land related policies can be costly. But the costs of not
formulating and implementing such policies are much higher (Dowall David & Clark Giles, 1997).
 The preservation of the agricultural land resource is essential for the long-term viability of many
peri-urban and rural communities.
St Lawrence Lowland
Taken by Thomas Kitchin
From: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/st-lawrence-lowland/

4. The Context of Québec
 Croplands
≈2% of Québec’s land fragile and non-renewable
 The most fertile land is concentrated in the St. Lawrence Plain (which is
also Quebec’s most densely populated area)
 Protecting the agricultural zone and the priority of farming activities in this
zone is essential
RCM of Haut-Saint-Laurent, South-West Québec
RCM of Haut-Saint-Laurent, South-West Québec

5. Agricultural Soil Classes, Québec
Class 1 Soils in this class have no significant limitations in use for crops
Class 2 Soils in this class have moderate limitations that restrict the range of
crops or require moderate conservation practices
Class 3 Soils in this class have moderately severe limitations that restrict the
range of crops or require special conservation practices
Class 4 Soils in this class have severe limitations that restrict the range of crops
or require special conservation practices.
Class 5 Soils in this class gave very severe limitations that restrict their
capability in producing perennial forage crops, and improvement
practices are feasible
Class 6 Soils in this class are capable only of producing perennial forage crops,
and improvement practices are not feasible.
Class 7 Soils in this class have no capacity for arable culture or permanent
pasture
Class O Organic Soils (not placed in capability classes)
Classes according to CLI (Canada Land Inventory)Land Use
Close up of the Agricultural Areas Around
the Lowland of St Lawrence River
From: http://www.geostrategis.com/c_cli-montreal.htm#f
The Context
of Québec

6. The Context of Québec (cntd)
 Obligatory competences of
Each RCM:
 • Land use planning and
development plan
 • Elaboration of a strategic vision for
the economic, social, cultural, and
environmental development (except
for the RCM located in the
Metropolitan Communities)
 • Planning the management of
residual matter
 • Protection planning against fire and
civil security
 • Administration of non organized
territories
 • Land evaluation
 • Water network management
 • Management of local centres of
development (CLD)

7. The Context of Québec (cntd)
 Legislation: one of the basic tools for preserving farmland
 1960s-1970s: rapid economic development, speculation on land, fragmentation of the
land, and non-agricultural use development.
 The market value of a lot destined for urban uses is much larger than a lot where
agricultural activities were practiced; hence, the pressure to abandon agriculture
(Cimon, 1990).
 1967: Quebec soil scientists evoke the urgency to enact legislation limiting urban
sprawl (Tardif, 2004).
 1978: Act respecting the Preservation of agricultural land (APAL), provincial
legislation, (the second one in Canada after the Agricultural Land Commission Act in
B.C. in 1973)
 Agricultural zoning
 1997: Act respecting the Preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities.
Between 1964 and 1975,
urbanization in the Montreal area
alone had resulted in the loss of
more than 20 000 hectares of land
with high potential for agriculture
(Ministry of Municipal Affairs,1977)

8. The Context of Québec (cntd)
The Act:
 Is the legislative framework for the protection of the agricultural land.
 Applies to all the 17 administrative regions of Québec.
 Applies a brake to the wasting of the agricultural lands, also called ‘green
zone’, which barely amount 2 % (an area of 63,500 square kilometers) of the
territory of Quebec.
 Applies to the government, its ministries and its organizations.
 Has precedence over all other general or special laws [i.e. the Act respecting
land use planning and development (LAU) (1979)]; therefore, it plays an
important role not only in the agricultural sphere, but also as regards the
development of the province.

9. The Context of Québec (cntd)
 The Act:
 Its purpose is “to guarantee a lasting territorial base for agricultural purposes
and to foster the preservation and development of farming activities and farm
enterprises in the established agricultural zones, in keeping with sustainable
development imperatives” (LPTAA, art. 1.1).
 It is managed by the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec
(CPTAQ).
 The Commission: its mission is to “ensure for future generations an environment
conducive to the exercise of planning and development of agricultural activities"
(CPTAQ, 2010).
 The Commission: makes decisions regarding authorizations for exclusion &
inclusion of a lot in the agricultural zone, and for non-agricultural use of the
latter.
* The Commission is an
autonomous, decision-making
organization exerting a socio-
economic role of regulation.
The Province can substitute
itself for the Commission at any
time for the benefit of the
‘greater good’.

10. The Context of Québec (cntd)
 Some Contradictions/Barriers Created by the Agricultural Zoning Law and
the Commission
 A threat to Agriculture (& Over-estimation of the Agricultural Area?):
 The legislation defines agriculture (until now):
 Leaving the land uncropped
 Land is to be used for agriculture even if it is a swampy land, a mossy hill of stone
or fallow land
 And in 1978, the government of Québec identified 4 major threats to agricultural
lands, calling for legislative intervention. Those main threats are:
 Loss of farms resulting from the abandonment of cultivation
 Urbanization
 Real estate speculation &
 The sale of agricultural lands to non-residents

11. The Context of Québec (cntd)
 Some Contradictions/Barriers Created by the Agricultural Zoning Law and the Commission
 The Criterion of Homogeneity:
 The preservation of farming communities & farming operations: the only concern of the APAL:
 Even if biophysical & economic conditions do not allow for the survival of a stringent agricultural
community near large urban areas.
 The preservation of agricultural soils from physical degradation & the development of farming
practices less likely to destroy soil’s agricultural potential and to contaminate the environment has
never been part of the discussion of the legislative scheme of APAL.
 * Gives the RCMs the responsibility to manage the agricultural area included in that territory with
respect to the objectives and dispositions of the agricultural zoning law in Québec *

12. The Context of Québec (cntd)
 CAAAQ (la Commission sur l’avenir de l’agriculture et de l’agroalimentaire
québécois), 2008:
o Report on the issues and challenges of the agriculture and agri-food sector in Québec
o Examines the effectiveness of public interventions
o Establishes a diagnostic
o Issues recommendations
 Overall, the report finds that: agriculture operates in an inflexible policy framework
 and that it is essential to revitalize agriculture (including encouraging the coexistence of
various types of agriculture and land use) by:
 increasing value-added production and recognizing the multifunctional character of
agriculture (so the latter is considered an asset to value and not a constraint to territorial
and regional development).
 Unfortunately, the context of Québec agricultural policy is in a state of stagnation
in the sense that the majority of the interested stakeholders are awaiting the
application of the recommendations of this report, as they are relevant for the
development of the agri-food sector in Québec.

13. Case Study- RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu
Montérégie
West
Montérégie Est
Région
administrative : Montérégie (16)
Superficie totale : 99 600 km2
Population : 117 050
From:
http://www.mamrot.gouv.qc.ca/repe
rtoire-des-
municipalites/fiche/mrc/560/
Permanent agricultural zone:
90% of its territory (RCM of Le
Haut-Richelieu is more rural vs.
peri-urban)
14
municipalities

14. Case Study- RCM of le Haut-Richelieu
-12%
-10%
-8%
-6%
-4%
-2%
0%
Variation de nombre de fermes et d'exploitants agricoles, au Québec et Montérégie
Ouest, 2006-2011
Fermes
Exploitants agricoles
Statistics Canada, (Census
2013)

15. Case Study- RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Montérégie Ouest
Québec
17%
20%
41%
40%
42%
40%
Évolution de la superficie des fermes de 760 acres et plus de 1991 à 2011
Montérégie-Ouest et Québec
1991
2006
2011
Statistics Canada,
(Census 2013)

16. Case Study- RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Montérégie-Ouest: répartition des exploitations agricoles par secteur de production 2011
Élevage de bovins de boucherie, y compris
l'exploitation de parcs d'engraissement
Élevage de bovins laitiers et production
laitière
Autres cultures agricoles
Culture en serre et en pépinière et
floriculture
Culture de fruits et de noix
Culture de légumes et de melons
Culture de plantes oléagineuses et de
céréales
Autres types d'élevage
Élevage de moutons et de chèvres
Élevage de volailles et production d'oeufs
Élevage de porcs
Élevage de bovins
Statistics Canada, (Census
2013)

17. Case Study- RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu
 Local Legislations (2):
 A) Land Use and Development Plan, SADR (in French), (25 June, 2004):
 In compliance with the Act respecting land use planning and development (LAU)
 Aim: To protect the agricultural land in the territory of the RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu based on
the concepts of sustainable development and soil preservation (recognizing that soil is a non-
renewable resource)
 B) Urban plan: Each municipality, within the RCM, has to develop an urban plan (after the
publishing of the SADR) that complies with the SADR,
 & Whenever a municipality modifies its planning regulations, the Law on Land Use Planning and
Development (LAU ) requires a transmission to the RCM to verify compliances with the SADR .
From the website of the RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu
http://www.mrchr.qc.ca/amenagementduterritoire.php

18. References
 Dowall, D. and Clark, G. (1997). Urban Land Policies for the Uninitiated. Economic and Social commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
http://www.unescap.org/huset/land_policies/
 Ecoinformatics International Inc. (2006). http://www.geostrategis.com/c_cli-montreal.htm#f
 Cimon, Jean. 1990. Zonage agricole et développement urbain, Montréal, Éditions du Méridien.
 Tardif, Lauréan. 2004. «La Loi sur la protection du territoire agricole du Québec : 25 ans de zonage agricole». En ligne. <
http://vision2025.uqac.ca/amenagement/LaureanTardif.pdf>. Consulté le 11 juin 2011.
 Ministère des Affaires Municipales. (Avril, 1977). Direction générale de l’urbanisme et de l’aménagement du territoire. L’Urbanisation dans la
conurbation montréalaise: tendencies actuelles et propositions d’orientation. p. 7.
 Commission de protection du territoire agricole (CPTAQ). 2010. CPTAQ. En ligne. <http://www.cptaq.gouv.qc.ca/>. Consulté le 18 juillet 2011.
 Commission sur l’avenir de l’agriculture et de l’agroalimentaire québécois (CAAAQ). 2008. «Rapport de la commission sur l’avenir de l’agriculture et
de l’agroalimentaire québécois ». En ligne.
 Ministère des Affaires Municipales et Occupation du Territoire,(MAMROT). (2010). http://www.mamrot.gouv.qc.ca/repertoire-des-
municipalites/fiche/mrc/560/
 Site de la MRC du Haut-Richelieu. (2011). http://www.mrchr.qc.ca/amenagementduterritoire.php

19.  Thank you for your attention!!
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