On April 17, 2012, an Act respecting natural heritage conservation and the sustainable development of the area covered by the Northern Plan (Bill 65), was tabled in the Québec National Assembly and referred to a committee for consultation. Bill 65 is part of the development project of Northern Québec involving investments of $80 billion over the next 25 years announced on May 9, 2011 by the Government of Québec (the Plan Nord). While no date has been confirmed for the adoption after first reading at this time, Bill 65 aims to reserve a portion of Northern Quebec from industrial activity.

The Plan Nord covers an area of almost 1.2 million square kilometres North of the 49th parallel, which represents 72% of the province's territory. If Bill 65 is enacted in its current form, 12% of the area covered by the Plan Nord will be reserved from industrial activity by 2015, 20% by 2020 and finally 50% by 2035. Public consultations will be held to determine which areas will be reserved, as more than half of the reserved territory has yet to be identified. At this time, 9% of the area is reserved from industrial activity.

One can expect that key areas with high mining potential will not be affected by Bill 65, as the primary objective of the Plan Nord is to develop the economy by capitalizing on the province's resource potential and creating the equivalent of 20,000 jobs per year. Interestingly, Bill 65 does not prohibit the mining of surface minerals in reserved areas, but rather requires that the authorization of the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks (the Minister) be obtained1. The introduction to Bill 65 states that the reserved area is to "benefit from measures to promote the sustainable use of resources," meaning that sustainable surface mining projects could be allowed within the reserved area.

Additionally, Bill 65 will also provide for the:

  • creation of marine reserves and the recognition of man-made landscapes 2;
  • restatement of the Minister's obligation to keep a public register of protected areas 3;
  • creation of a reporting process with respect to the conservation measures applicable in the reserved area; and
  • introduction of penal provisions and certain regulatory powers.

Given the fact that environmental measures were to be adopted concurrently with the Plan Nord, the tabling of Bill 65 does not come as a surprise.

The Plan Nord is an ambitious project, it will open up Quebec's vast territory to the exploration and development of its natural resources and it will have a significant impact on the mining industry in Quebec. We will continue to provide ongoing updates on the developments relating to the Plan Nord.

François Paradis is a partner in the firm's Business Law Department. Hugo-Pierre Gagnon is an associate in the Corporate Practice Group of our Montréal office. Alexandre Fallon practice focuses on litigation, including commercial litigation, class actions, environmental, regulatory and aboriginal law, insolvency and restructuring, consumer protection, arrangements and constitutional law. Pierre Fournier-Simard has successfully completed the Quebec Bar in December 2011 and is now working as an articling student in the Corporate department.

Footnotes

1 Bill 65, art. 27 and 48.

2 Defined as "an area established to protect the biodiversity of an inhabited terrestrial or aquatic area having biophysical features that warrant conservation as a result of, among other things, human activities performed over time in harmony with nature, and whose preservation depends on the continuation of those activities by the community."

3 Such a obligation also exists under the Parks Act (R.S.Q., chapter P-9)

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