WC137 JulyAug 2024 - Magazine - Page 8
LEGAL
Quebec: Protection of Water
Resources and Urban Development
There is a clear intention from Quebec’s provincial legislators and
municipalities to better tackle water use issues and increase its
protection. BY ROXANE NADEAU AND ADINA-CRISTINA GEORGESCU
There is a common and growing effort from
the Quebec legislature and municipalities
to address the protection and use of water
through various planning tools.
Roxane Nadeau
practises primarily in
the areas of municipal,
environmental and energy
law for Miller Thomson LLP.
Adina Georgescu
practises in the areas
of administrative,
municipal, urban planning,
environmental and energy
law in Miller Thomson’s
Montréal office.
8
HE QUEBEC LEGISLATURE and municipalities
regularly adopt legislative amendments and new regulations to tighten the environmental legal framework.
This is particularly true when it comes to climate
change and the protection of water or its use. We
observe a common and growing effort from the Quebec legislature and municipalities in Quebec to address the protection
and use of water through various planning tools.
T
Provincial legislation
At the provincial level, the Act Respecting Land Use Planning
and Development (c. A-19.1) (hereinafter “LUPD”) establishes
the framework for town planning regulations in Quebec. As of
last year, Bill 16 was adopted resulting in many changes to the
LUPD. The first to note is certainly the clarification of the objectives the act pursues, which now expressly include the fight
against climate change; the optimal management of public
infrastructures; and the sustainable and integrated management of water resources. Bill 16 also created new obligations
for municipalities aligned with these objectives. For instance,
WATER C AN ADA • JULY/AUGUS T 2024
“A number of lawsuits
have been brought
against municipalities
in light of lengthening
deadlines and contractual
agreements between
municipalities and
developers.”
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
