Brenda O’Farrell
The Advocate

Other restriction that went into immediate effect pending Bill 86’s approval include:

• In certain circumstances, the purchase of agricultural land within 1,000 metres of an urban perimeter is now subject to approval;
• The construction of greenhouses or other production buildings on what is considered good quality farmland is prohibited;
• Construction of a second residence on a farm regardless of acquired rights is barred.

These restrictions could be made permanent if the bill is adopted into law without amendments.

In addition to updating the province’s Agricultural Land Protection Act, the 51-page draft bill proposes to amend a number of other existing pieces of legislation, including the Loi sur l’acquisition de terres agricoles par des non-résidents, the Loi sur l’aménagement et l’urbanisme and the Loi sur la fiscalité municipal.

The result will see restrictions on who can purchase farmland and provides for monetary penalties for contraventions.

The bill also seeks to amend the rules related to how requests for rezoning land for uses other than farming can be made by MRCs, and under what conditions new uses of land for residential purposes can be located in agricultural zones.

The bill also seeks to impose mandatory measures on the government if it authorizes a new vocation to existing agricultural land. And it also gives the government the authority to add a lot that is not currently zoned for agricultural use to be included in the agricultural zone if the owner of the land is in agreement.

The bill also grants new regulatory powers to the government to determine when and under what conditions new uses for agricultural land can be assigned without obtaining authorization from the Commission de protection du territoire agricole.

Also included are provisions to exempt pig farms from the current mandatory process of holding a public consultation to approve the expansion of an existing operation.

It also gives municipalities the power to impose an additional tax on agricultural land that is not being farmed.

Erosion of farmland

From 2016 and 2021, just over 9,500 hectares of agricultural land in Quebec have been dezoned to be used for other purposes, according to the CPTAQ.

The agency also confirms that from April 1, 2022, to Feb. 28, 2023, the CPTAQ has received requests to dezone 317 hectares. It refused the majority of those requests, but conceded to rezone 41 hectares in the Centre du Québec region, an area on the south side of the St. Lawrence River across from Trois Rivières that includes Drummondville, Victoriaville and Bécancour.

In September 2023, Swedish battery manufacturing giant Northvolt announced it would build a factory in St. Basile and McMasterville on 170 hectares of mostly farmland.

In all, from April 1998 to March 2022, 1,780 hectares of farmland have been lost to 10 mining-related dezoning requests, according to reports, while another 2,826 hectares of farmland have been lost to infrastructure projects linked to transportation and hydroelectric production.