A future right of first refusal applauded by elected officials in Eastern Quebec

The right of first refusal allows a municipal administration to acquire private property in priority. This power was claimed by the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) as well as by many cities and municipalities.

Prime Minister François Legault has announced his intention to expand this right by the end of this legislature. He made this announcement during a speech given at the Assises de l’UMQUnion of Quebec MunicipalitiesThursday morning.

The mechanism of the right of first refusal can be used in different respects, in the interest of the public good. It can be to create parks, to create an arenaillustrates Daniel Côté, president of theUMQUnion of Quebec Municipalities and mayor of Gaspé. We will also better control what is happening in our city centershe adds.

The mayor of Rimouski points out that the current price will apply. In the end, the citizen, the citizen, does not lose outassures Guy Caron.

He recalls that this practice is common in Europe and that it gives several advantages to municipal administrations, in particular more control over the development of the territory and more control over the development of a neighborhood, a district.

To solve the housing crisis

If the right of pre-emption is indeed granted to them, municipalities will be able to have the first right of inspection over land or buildings that they can, for example, sell to real estate developers or transfer to a municipal housing office.

The mayor of Baie-Comeau, Yves Montigny, points out that this is a excellent news. For him, the municipalities will be able to tackle the housing shortage. Several projects put on hold will, according to him, be able to move forward.

The elected official indicates that promoters or owners of land in Baie-Comeau are currently keeping their assets for speculative reasonsthat is to say to resell them in several years at a higher price.

That is devastating for the revitalization of a territory because we have a species of white elephant in the sector [qui] prevents us from developing, especially in housingargues Mayor Montigny.

The mayor of Carleton-sur-Mer, Mathieu Lapointe, also believes that the announcement is very promising for municipal administrations, and, ultimately, for their citizens.

” What we will be able to do concretely is to target land where we would like to develop housing. Eventually, when the land is put up for sale, the Municipality has a right of first glance to be able to acquire it. »

The mayor of Percé, Cathy Poirier, recognizes that certain territories are more affected than others by the announcement. On the other hand, it is a message, it is a sign of municipal autonomy, which is very importantshe says.

A bill on the table

It is the member for Gaspé and spokesperson for the Parti Québécois on housing, Méganne Perry Mélançon, who tabled a bill on Thursday morning that would grant cities and municipalities the right of preemption. His political formation had been working on this project for several months.

The elected official mentions in a press release that the ball is now in the Legault government’s court.

” We have three weeks left, but we are obviously in agreement. I urge the government to call our bill for consideration quickly. »

The Gaspé elected representative specifies that Bill 994 contains only eight articles and invites Quebec to proceed quickly.

A promise relating to expropriation

In a possible second term, Prime Minister François Legault also pledged, Thursday morning, to facilitate the expropriation process undertaken by the municipalities. This promise was also welcomed by elected officials.

According to Daniel Côté, Quebec lags a few decades behind the rest of Canada.

In his opinion, a modernization of the law would be welcome, in particular to make life easier for municipal administrations and reduce the costs they must pay. The mayor of Rimouski opines in the same direction.

” It’s not that we like to expropriate people, but sometimes it’s necessary to do so. »

Currently, the law makes [le processus] too expensive. […] It’s way beyond the market. Cities are discouraged from moving towards projects that could require expropriation because of the exorbitant costs it can entailspecifies Guy Caron.