Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter
Members of the Haut-Saint-Laurent syndicate of the Union des Producteurs Agricoles met on February 20 in Ormstown for the local union’s annual general assembly.
Around 30 producers participated in the meeting, which included a presentation on carbon market prospects for the Quebec agricultural sector, as well as an introduction to a new group insurance program that has recently been opened to farmers and their employees.
Catherine Turgeon, the UPA advisor for the Haut-Saint-Laurent syndicate, spoke about several files or areas in which the union has intervened locally over the past year, including issues relating to construction and roadwork, municipal bylaws, the proposed asphalt plant in Havelock, and waterway management.
The UPA collaborates with the Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité Durable when planned roadwork may impede the movement of agricultural machinery. The local union was involved in the complete closure of Route 209 in Franklin between the Chemin de l’Artifice and Rang des Lemieux to repair a culvert last October.
Producers were informed of the urgent situation following an inspection that forced the closure of Route 209 during harvest season, and worked with the ministry and municipalities involved to ensure farmers could transport grain from their fields on roads where regular traffic was prohibited.
The UPA also consulted with the transport ministry on upcoming work to repair the bridge at Allan’s Corners in Très-Saint-Sacrement, which is expected to take place in 2026. Producers who farm on both sides of the Chateauguay River attended an information session last January organized by the Haut-Saint-Laurent and Beauharnois-Salaberry unions. The UPA is expecting answers to a request for producers to use the Brysonville railway bridge during the closure, as well as other questions raised by producers.
Turgeon says the UPA’s role in working with different levels of government is especially important to ensure new bylaws or regulations do not negatively impact agriculture. This past year, the UPA supported producers in Saint-Chrysostome by working with the municipality in April, after farmers raised questions about a proposed amendment to urban planning and zoning bylaws that would have required producers to obtain permits to cut trees in agricultural areas.
Turgeon highlighted the important role producers play in helping the UPA to know when new bylaws are introduced. “Keep up to date with what is happening, and do not hesitate to consult the UPA,” she said, noting it was much easier to intervene while bylaws are still in the planning stage and have not been adopted.
Another example of this is the UPA’s recent support of a protest held by Saint-Chrysostome producers after the municipality planned to raise the variable tax rate paid on agricultural land.
Regional issues
Jérémie Letellier, the president of the Fédération de l’UPA de la Montérégie, also spoke with producers on the different issues impacting agriculture at a more regional level, such as land-use planning and the loss of agricultural land.
“There is pressure from all sides,” he said, referring to the impacts of wind energy projects, hydro projects, road networks, and urban sprawl on the region’s agricultural land, noting there were around 360 files open with the Commission de Protection du Territoire Agricole. “There is an upward trend in requests concerning protection and access to natural environments,” he noted.
Letellier said that following public consultations, the Quebec government will soon introduce a bill to amend the Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities. “Several of the proposed changes will weaken the protection regime and open the door to even wider non-agricultural uses,” he explained.
“We have the region where there is the most pressure from urbanization,” he added, while reiterating how important it is that agricultural land be protected.
Haut-Saint-Laurent UPA president Éric Leboeuf and vice-president Josiane Carrière then updated producers on the waterway management file and relations with the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent. A resolution was passed last fall calling for better collaboration with the MRC to ensure work to clear waterways is carried out. They noted the situation was evolving and that information pertaining to requests for work on ditches and waterways would soon be made public.
At the end of the meeting, a resolution was proposed by members asking the UPA federation to pressure the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation and the Quebec government to reform municipal taxation policies to prevent the MAPAQ budget from being used to finance municipalities through tax refunds. After a debate, the resolution was adopted, and the meeting was lifted.