Quebec could face a hefty bill if the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) is convicted of at least seven counts of covert expropriation. So far, the Legault government has been tapped to guarantee nearly $600 million, and the amount could rise further.
Published at 1:43 am. Updated at 5:00 am.
Since April, the CMM has used the Quebec government as a surety in seven cases in which it is being sued for covert expropriation. The total so far amounts to $589 million, as La Presse learned.
A warranty claim is generally brought when a defendant believes that another company needs to be replaced in light of possible unfavorable court rulings. The seven cases in question sue the CMM after it issued two Interim Control Orders (RCI) to temporarily protect natural environments and certain golf courses.
The first regulation, adopted in June 2022, prohibits any development in forests and wetlands of interest within the CMM territory. The second law, also passed in 2022, aims to protect six former golf courses with potential for conversion into green spaces. Both regulations were approved by the Quebec government.
So far, around thirty lawsuits have been filed against the CMM. Some are simply calling for the regulations in question to be simply repealed.
But every time the CMM is sued for covert expropriation, the Quebec government is now called upon as a guarantor, explains Marc-André LeChasseur, a lawyer at the firm Bélanger Sauvé, which represents the CMM.
According to Marc-André LeChasseur, cities’ hands are tied as they must respect the guidelines set by Quebec. He reminds that cities and the CMM apply state land use planning guidelines (OGAT). The urban land use and development plan (PMAD) must respect government policies, and municipal zoning regulations must comply with the PMAD. In addition, the PMAD must be approved by Quebec to be valid.
Protect 30% of the territory by 2030
The Legault government has committed to protecting 30% of its territory by 2030 in order to respect international agreements on biodiversity protection, including the Kumming-Montreal agreement negotiated in the metropolis in December 2022. CMM also has set a goal of protecting 30% of its territory by the end of the decade.
Quebec will get its 30% in the north [de la province]but in the South the government uses its executive branch, the cities, to do this for itself.
Marc-André LeChasseur, lawyer at the Bélanger Sauvé law firm
“We have to find a way to solve these problems,” he pleads. Either the state offers the cities legal protection or it gives them money [pour payer les indemnités]. » According to him, the municipal world is not in the same situation as Quebec, which is not obliged to pay compensation in the event of expropriation.
As an example, the lawyer cites the Law on the Protection of Land and Agricultural Activities, “which clearly states that if land is found in an agricultural zone, no recourse is possible.” [article 95] “.
According to Jean-François Girard, a lawyer specializing in environmental law, the use of warranty claims arises from recent court decisions. “The courts are now telling us that even if a municipal ordinance is valid, it may be a hidden expropriation.” »
“Our opponents are currently telling us the same thing: their regulation is valid, but it is a disguised expropriation. They no longer even dispute the regulations issued by the cities! »
According to the two lawyers, Bill 22 on expropriation could provide a solution to this problem. “Bill 22 is an anti-speculation law aimed at speculators betting on land use changes [pour réaliser leurs projets] », confirms Marc-André LeChasseur.
“Attack on property rights”
However, according to lawyer Nikolas Blanchette from the Fasken law firm, the proposed reform is more inspired by communism, he argued in a recent publication on the LinkedIn network. According to the lawyer representing dispossessed clients, Bill 22 “represents a clear attack on property rights.”
If passed, the bill would ensure that dispossessed owners are compensated based on the market value of their land, rather than the value to the owner as is currently the case.
Marc-André LeChasseur believes that Quebec would compensate no more and no less than several Canadian provinces and even the United States, where market value is taken into account in expropriation.
“We do this in Ontario and six other Canadian provinces. “This is also the case in the United States, which certainly cannot be described as a communist regime,” replies Me LeChasseur to Nikolas Blanchette.
Quebec is currently conducting a detailed study of Bill 22 after receiving several briefings in the fall.
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43% Compensation amounts could fall by 43% if the government pushed ahead with the introduction of the market value principle.
Source: Metropolitan Community of Montreal
147 million annual budget of the Metropolitan Community of Montreal, which represents a quarter of the amounts claimed in the seven hidden expropriation lawsuits.
Source: Metropolitan Community of Montreal