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

Outline1) 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

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 LowlandTaken by Thomas Kitchin

From: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/st-lawrence-lowland/

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

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

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)

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)

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.

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’.

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

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 *

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 Québeco 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.

Case Study- RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu

Montérégie West

Montérégie Est

Région administrative : Montérégie (16)

Superficie totale : 99 600 km2

Population : 117 050From: http://www.mamrot.gouv.qc.ca/repertoire-des-municipalites/fiche/mrc/560/

Permanent agricultural zone: 90% of its territory (RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu is more rural vs. peri-urban)

14 municipalitie

s

Case Study- RCM of le Haut-Richelieu

Beauhar

nois-S

alab

erry

Le h

aut-R

ichel

ieu

Le H

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aint-L

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nt

Les J

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Napie

rvill

e

Rouss

illon

Vaudru

eil-S

oula

nges

Tota

l MRC

Québec

-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)

Case Study- RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu

Montérégie Ouest

Québec

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

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

199120062011

Statistics Canada, (Census 2013)

Case Study- RCM of Le Haut-Richelieu

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700 Élevage de bovins de boucherie, y compris l'exploitation de parcs d'engraissementÉlevage de bovins laitiers et produc-tion laitièreAutres cultures agricolesCulture en serre et en pépinière et floricultureCulture de fruits et de noixCulture de légumes et de melonsCulture de plantes oléagineuses et de céréalesAutres types d'élevageÉlevage de moutons et de chèvresÉlevage de volailles et production d'oeufsÉlevage de porcsÉlevage de bovins

Montérégie-Ouest: répartition des exploitations agricoles par secteur de pro-duction 2011

Statistics Canada, (Census 2013)

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

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

Thank you for your attention!!