WC131 JulyAugust 2023 - Magazine - Page 18
LEGAL
Local Responsibility
Quebec’s municipalities take on greater role in water management
BY ADINA GEORGESCU
Adina Georgescu
Adina is a partner with
Miller Thomson’s Montreal office,
specializing in administrative,
municipal, urban planning,
environmental, and energy law.
Special thanks to Geneviève Westgate.
18
WATER C AN ADA • JULY/AUGUS T 2023
HE QUEBEC MUNICIPAL sector has long played a
role in management of environmental resources, with
numerous laws and regulations empowering local governments. Recently, however, new legislative amendments
were introduced, empowering both regional and local
municipal bodies to better ensure the sustainable use and protection of Quebec’s water resources.
Adopted in 2005, the Municipal Powers Act enables municipalities to regulate water supply, sewers, and water purification.
The Act allows local governments to pass bylaws controlling the
discharge of contaminants into the municipal sewer system and
waterways, as well as bylaws prohibiting water waste.1 If a regional county municipality (RCM) becomes aware of an obstacle in
a watercourse that threatens the safety of persons or property, it
must perform the necessary work to restore it.2
The Act to affirm the collective nature of water resources and to
promote better governance of water and associated environments
(Water Act), enacted in 2009, gives power to RCMs to develop
and implement a regional wetlands and bodies of water plan for
its entire territory, including the waters in the domain of the
State, with a view to integrated water management for all watersheds concerned.3
T
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Getty Images
The Act respecting the conservation of wetlands
and bodies of water introduced to strengthen the
protection of Quebec’s water resources.
