Andrew McClelland
The Advocate

When is a farm not just a farm? That’s the question the Quebec government is asking itself about an agricultural business in Mirabel that has — at least according to its owners — become a huge success.

Last month, the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec issued an order to popular cabane à sucre La Sucrerie Bonaventure in the Laurentian town north of Montreal to cease using a portion of its land “for purposes other than agriculture despite several refusals by the Commission to grant applications for authorizations.”

At issue are a 9-hole golf course, seating for 1,000 customers in the cabane’s dining room, a microbrewery that seats 300, and a rodeo that drew about 18,000 attendees last summer — all on agricultural land the CPTAQ says should be reserved for agriculture.

Alexandre Ladouceur, the current owner of La Sucrerie Bonaventure, says his businesses are agri-tourism. But the CPTAQ says simply it is not just agriculture. And the local UPA worries that when land-use rules aren’t respected by everyone, rampant abuse can occur.