Photo: Jacques Boissinot archives The Canadian Press “Municipalities and MRCs will have to plan their development carefully,” recalled the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Andrée Laforest.
Jeanne Corriveau
Posted at 3:43 p.m.
- Quebec
Quebec will provide $21 million in aid to cities to support them in the application of the National Architecture and Land Use Planning Policy. The Minister of Municipal Affairs, Andrée Laforest, made the announcement during her visit to the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) on Friday.
The aid announced will allow cities and the MRC to be supported by academics in their development planning work in their territories. “You will not be alone,” she said in her speech to an audience of municipal elected officials gathered at the Palais de congrès de Montréal. “There are several universities which are familiar with government guidelines, which are familiar with town planning and development plans. You're going to get help. »
In a press scrum following her speech, Ms. Laforest recalled that to comply with the National Architecture and Land Use Planning Policy, municipalities will have to determine targets and indicators as part of their development plans. development. “Municipalities and MRCs will have to plan their development carefully. In the past, there was no planning. Our infrastructure in Quebec costs a fortune because there were no obligations, no vision,” she argued. “Our elected officials, mayors, need to take the time to think. Because it's nice to build and have projects, but is there water in the basement to do it ? Are the aqueducts compliant ? »
Unveiled in June 2022, the National Architecture and Land Use Planning Policy aims to provide a reference framework for all municipalities in Quebec in order, in particular, to limit urban sprawl, promote more compact development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Reduce bureaucracy
The minister also took advantage of her visit to the meeting to announce her intention to submit a project of law aimed at reducing administrative burden within his ministry.
Earlier in the day, the president of the UMQ and mayor of Varennes, Martin Damphousse, recalled how the bureaucratic requirements of the various ministries in Quebec represented a burden for the cities. “Government requirements generate costs for municipalities estimated at $328 million per year,” he explained. “There are a minimum of 4,100 municipal employees who work full time to meet the various demands of the Quebec government. »
Andrée Laforest is committed to remedying this bureaucratic burden in her ministry. “For example, for a development plan, it can take years for it to be compliant. It is not normal. What we are going to do is that there are people who will work in the regions themselves. […] In Quebec, it will really reduce the administrative burden. »