A controversial bill that was intended to overhaul the forest industry was jettisoned by the Quebec government, the second time the provincial government has backed down the past week after weeks of steadfast opposition.
Bill 97, An Act mainly to modernize the forest regime, was touted as an effort to protect the jobs of forestry workers who are threatened by the tariff war with the U.S. It would have divided the province’s public forest land into three zones: conservation zones (protected from industrial logging), multi-purpose zones (recreational, Indigenous, and mixed-use activities) and forest development zones where the forestry industry is prioritized.
“Bill 97 provides a streamlined and effective framework for stakeholders, while upholding the importance of sustainable development,” said Maïté Blanchette-Vézina, then Quebec Minister of Natural Resources and Forests.
But the legislative proposal faced stiff opposition, from the get-go. Environmentalists, labour, hunting and fishing advocates as well as the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) and including the Innu, Atikamekw, and Algonquin First Nations vehemently opposed Bill 97.
“This is a small victory, but above all, it is only the first step,” said the AFNQL on Facebook. “Now, words must turn into action. The government has the opportunity to co-construct, with all stakeholders, a truly sustainable forestry regime.”
Bill 97 represented a clear violation of the rights of Indigenous peoples, asserts Karine Millaire, a constitutional and Indigenous law professor at the Université de Montréal. Bill 97 violates the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted in 2007, which Canada has committed to implementing, says Millaire. The Supreme Court of Canada recently confirmed that UNDRIP “has real legal significance,” notes Millaire.
The Quebec Environmental Law Centre said that Bill 97 risks causing “significant negative impacts” on biodiversity protection. “Several provisions of this bill are highly problematic, particularly those related to granting priority development zoning for forestry industries. In doing so, the government is compromising its ability to act in the public interest,“ warns executive director Geneviève Paul. ”This bill misses the mark and is a wasted opportunity to adopt forest management reform that would effectively address the serious and growing risks posed by climate change and biodiversity loss.”
The Quebec Federation of Municipalities too denounced the bill as an effort to curb municipal powers in forest management. “This is a serious blow to municipal intervention powers on the territory, which is particularly incomprehensible,” said the organization in its official submission.
The Quebec government also backed down from safety regulations that affected pool owners.
Less than two weeks before the original Sept. 30 deadline, Municipal Affairs Minister Geneviève Guilbault announced that pool owners who have not yet complied with safety regulations requiring controlled access to outdoor pools have been given a one-year reprieve.
A petition by Comité Citoyens Piscine, a citizen group advocating for pool owners, obtained more than 30,000 signatures in a petition calling for an extension of the regulation. The group denounced the high costs associated with securing a swimming pool, and the lack of clarity over the rules. According to a survey conducted by the group, homeowners who carried out the work without using the rear wall of their house within the pool enclosure spent an average of $10,980.