AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE – MINUTES – 119th meeting / Monday, April 14, 2025 at 5:33 p.m.

The following presentation is provided for information purposes, as the Agricultural Advisory Committee (CCA) is not the lead on this file. The PRMHH as a whole will be presented to the Commission du développement du territoire et de l’habitation at the end of April.

The PowerPoint document "Plan régional des milieux humides et hydriques (PRMHH)" is presented to the members. The presentation is broken down into the following sub-themes: • Context setting; • The process and steps; • Conservation commitment; • Conservation strategy; • Timeline.

After the presentation, questions, answers, and comments are formulated regarding, among other things: • The alignment between the objectives of the biodiversity protection plan and the conservation commitments for wetlands and water bodies has not been done. This alignment is part of the action plan and will be taken into consideration in the revision of land-use planning documents; • The City has a basic obligation, namely zero net loss of wetlands and water bodies. The counter will start from the moment the City adopts its PRMHH. However, it is not the City that controls the issuance or non-issuance of certificates of authorization to authorize their destruction; • The approach of the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MDDELCC) is to avoid and minimize the destruction of wetlands and water bodies, and when impossible, to compensate; • Other regulatory tools, such as the overhaul of the PIIA, will allow for the regulation of real estate projects and the conservation of natural environments in general; • The Loi sur la protection du territoire et des activités agricoles (LPTAA) already protects agricultural land, which can only be used for agricultural purposes; • The quality of riparian strips must be maintained when land development is authorized; • Maps of wetlands and water bodies on the territory of the City of Gatineau will be transmitted to the MDDELCC; • The fund to carry out work to create, optimize, improve, or expand wetlands and water bodies already exists, but the terms remain to be determined. The Outaouais fund is approximately $5 million. The fund has not yet been used, as the City is at the stage of identifying locations that could benefit from it; • A request is made to send the modified presentation to the members; • It is recognized that the data used to identify wetlands and water bodies are not precise, both in terms of delimitation and their presence. Possible differences raised by farmers between the mapping and the reality on the ground may be evaluated during the update of the mapping. A request is made that farmers not be the ones to pay for the validation of the presence of wetlands. The response is that in the immediate future, the PRMHH will not add forms of complexity, and that this question is not covered; • An update of the mapping will be carried out in the coming years in areas where information is incomplete. This will be one of the first actions taken, as a good characterization of the territory constitutes the basis for the subsequent application of the action plan; • The data used to create the mapping of wetlands and water bodies dates from 2023. The PRMHH is a regional-scale process and existing information was used for its creation. All wetlands and water bodies will remain potential until the information is refined; • Wetlands and water bodies present on the mapping, but which have possibly been destroyed, are categorized as "no category"; • The important thing for the moment is to define the conservation commitment for each wetland and water body; • Wetlands are important carbon reservoirs. This element is not part of the PRMHH for the moment, but a reflection will be carried out as part of the action plan; • General pressures on wetlands are calculated according to the intensity of activities in the periphery at a distance of approximately 100 m; • The City applies its powers in the management of watercourses. As part of the water management plan, the internal process will be optimized so that actions are taken and farmers are better supported when requesting watercourse maintenance work; • During an inter-departmental exercise, 10 watersheds were targeted, including 2 where land use is more agricultural. In these 2 watersheds, issues of erosion, biodiversity enhancement, or flooding were identified; • A territory incompatible with mining activity (TIAM) identified as "dynamic agriculture" must meet certain criteria. It is hoped that the commitment to protect these territories in the PRMHH will be improved to protect their ecosystem value; • It is believed that from an agricultural point of view, the "sustainable use" conservation commitment is preferable; • The Nature Québec municipal taxation project based on ecological services rendered is cited; • The "conservation agriculture" designation sectors are sectors that for the most part have notarized conservation easements; • Regarding hydro-connectivity, it is necessary to always ensure a water flow link; • The government very rarely authorizes work that destroys water bodies, and when it happens, the disturbances affect only a part and not the entirety of the water body; • The conservation agricultural territory zones appeared in the Land Use and Development Plan, but the history behind the identification of these zones must be validated; • A second presentation of the PRMHH is scheduled for the meeting of the Commission du développement du territoire et de l’habitation on April 24; • The PRMHH action plan will be presented at the meeting of the Commission du développement du territoire et de l’habitation on June 11.

The City of Gatineau is in the process of re-evaluating its economic development. Cells inside and outside the City are assisting the City on this subject. A survey was sent to actors in the economic environment, including several respondents from the agricultural sector, to better target their needs. One of the objectives is to review the support desired by the City and ID Gatineau for agriculture and its commercial development. Follow-ups on this subject will be offered to members periodically, when relevant. The Economic Development Bureau could eventually come to make a presentation to the CCA. It is added that the last workshop took place on March 26, during which discussions were held on the issues and avenues for improvement of the governance structure.