AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE – MINUTES – 121st meeting / Monday, September 29, 2025 at 5:31 p.m.

Presentation of the project to create the Grandes-Baies-de-l'Outaouais Wildlife Refuge (MELCCFP)

The PowerPoint document "Project for the creation of the Grandes-Baies-de-l'Outaouais Wildlife Refuge" was presented to the members. The presentation was divided into the following sub-themes:

• What is a wildlife refuge?;
• Project description;
• CPTAQ authorization request;
• Planned territory management.

Following the presentation, questions, answers, and comments were formulated regarding, among other things:

• The project has several phases. Phase 1 includes all lots not located in an agricultural zone. A notice of intervention is underway with the Deputy Minister. Phase 2 includes lots that require authorization from the Commission de la protection du territoire agricole du Québec (CPTAQ). Other lots are currently being exchanged due to major encroachment, and others are yet to be added;
• Consultations have been conducted with municipalities, Indigenous communities, and other ministries. It is not mandatory to hold public consultations for the creation of a wildlife refuge;
• There are several cases of encroachment on state-owned land. In some cases, leases will be granted, and in other cases, legal proceedings will have to be initiated or are already underway;
• The Regional Plan for Wetlands and Watercourses (Plan régional des milieux humides et hydriques - PRMHH) only applies to private land. The wildlife refuge project only concerns public land;
• The project to create a wildlife refuge aligns with the guidelines of the Land Use and Development Plan (Schéma d’aménagement et de développement);
• Agreements can be made between agricultural producers whose lands are adjacent to state lands and the ministry to allow the operation of lands located within the wildlife refuge;
• It is recalled for agricultural landowners looking for successors that the L’ARTERRE matching program can help them. Furthermore, it is hoped that state lands can be made available to the next generation. It is specified that, in other regions, government authorities have allowed managers to register properties with L’ARTERRE to make them available to successors;
• The lands located in the wildlife refuge project are generally not easily exploitable and are often flooded in the spring;
• The facilities planned for the wildlife refuge are minimal; only fences will be installed;
• The wildlife refuge project was initiated in the 2000s. An organization was created at that time to set the tone for what could be done on this territory. This is the Corporation de gestion de la rivière des Outaouais (CGRO). This organization still exists and is called upon at certain times, such as to find a name for the refuge and organize activities to encourage community participation.

Presentation of results and discussion for the Evaluation of success conditions, feasibility, and location of a permanent public market in Gatineau – Recommendation

The PowerPoint document "Evaluation of success conditions, feasibility, and location of a permanent public market in Gatineau" was presented to the members. The presentation was divided into the following sub-themes:

• Context: planning tools in Gatineau;
• Mandate;
• Definition and types of public markets;
• Methodology and data collection;
• Location criteria and site analysis;
• Presentation of existing permanent public markets (MPP);
• Recommendation on the location of the MPP;
• Success factors for the MPP in Gatineau;
• Next steps and conclusion.

Following the presentation, questions, answers, and comments were formulated regarding, among other things:

• Comparisons to permanent public markets in other municipalities are appreciated, particularly those of municipalities of a similar size to Gatineau, such as Trois-Rivières and Sainte-Foy;
• Comparisons with the permanent public markets of Montréal would have been appreciated. Attempts were made to contact them, without success;
• Real estate development around the Fonderie has slowed down due to soil contamination. The development of a permanent public market at this location is conditional on the real estate development of the sector;
• The success of the By market in Ottawa is diminishing;
• One of the recommendations is the phased development of the permanent public market;
• The Grand Marché de Québec realized a deficit for the first five years. A profit was realized last year for the first time. One of the reasons for this profit is that the agreement was changed so that the City assumes part of the building's heating costs;
• The Ferme Moore site brings its share of constraints, since there is no parking, the building is of modest size, and it is not always simple to deal with the National Capital Commission. It is believed that the City must have control over the location, and not just be a partner;
• The opening hours of the permanent public market are essential to ensure its success;
• The permanent public market will have to represent the different cultures present in the sector;
• Agricultural producers and food companies will represent approximately 90% of the permanent public market's revenue. Other activities could take place to stimulate the number of visits;
• The report for the evaluation of the success conditions, feasibility, and location of a permanent public market in Gatineau will be presented at the council meeting in December;
• There is no projected opening date for the permanent public market for now;
• It is estimated that the permanent public market project on the Fonderie site fits well into the planned planning of the sector;
• The permanent public market project has been discussed by the council since the beginning of the 2010s.

R-CCA-2025-09-29/03

CONSEQUENTLY, this Committee supports the conclusions of the document presented by the Table agroalimentaire de l’Outaouais (TAO) at the meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee on September 29, 2025, as part of the study on the permanent public market of Gatineau and recommends that a final document be transmitted to the municipal council with a view to the continuation of the project by the administration.

AND this Committee recognizes that the final document will make it possible to meet the objectives of the updated Agricultural Zone and Activity Development Plan (Plan de développement de la zone et des activités agricoles - PDZAA) regarding the establishment of a permanent public market and marketing for the promotion of regional agricultural products.

RECOMMENDED UNANIMOUSLY

Request to the CPTAQ – Use of lots for purposes other than agriculture – Project to create the "Grandes-Baies-de-l'Outaouais Wildlife Refuge" – Masson-Angers electoral district – Mario Aubé

Questions, answers, and comments were formulated regarding, among other things:

• Lots 1 372 444 and 2 466 808, which have high agronomic potential and are currently cultivated, belong to the ministry. It is presumed that there is an agreement between the agricultural producers and the ministry;
• It is believed that it would be relevant, for the lots in the wildlife refuge leased by the ministry excluding lots 1 372 444 and 2 466 808, to promote sustainable agricultural activities;
• The ministry manages the leases. It is not believed that these lots are favorable to extensive agricultural activity. The operation of lots 1 372 444 and 2 466 808 will not harm the connectivity of the ecological corridor;
• The uses for agricultural zones will remain unchanged. A use will be added in certain zones to authorize the specific use "9212 - Reserve for wildlife protection";
• After the authorization of the CPTAQ, the ministry will invoke section 122 of the Loi sur la conservation et la mise en valeur de la Faune to create the wildlife refuge, with or without lots 1 372 444 and 2 466 808, depending on the authorization;
• The UPA and the CPTAQ, according to its preliminary orientation, recommend the withdrawal of lots 1 372 444 and 2 466 808 from the wildlife refuge project. It is hard to see how the ministry could go in the opposite direction;
• When the creation of the refuge is official, the ministry will send a notice of amendment to the Land Use and Development Plan of the City of Gatineau. The City will then have to do everything possible to formalize the refuge in its planning documents and urban planning regulations.

R-CCA-2025-09-29/04

CONSIDERING THAT the ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs has filed with the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec an authorization request (file number 448509) aimed at the use for purposes other than agriculture, namely the creation of a wildlife refuge under section 122 of the Loi sur la conservation et la mise en valeur de la faune (RLRQ, chapter C-61.1);

CONSIDERING THAT the "Grandes-Baies-de-l’Outaouais Wildlife Refuge" project aims at the conservation of wildlife and its habitats on a territory of 27.5 km2, of which 8.3 km2 are located in a decreed agricultural zone, and among which approximately 2.32 km2 are covered by the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec request;

CONSIDERING THAT the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec has recognized, in its previous decisions, acquired rights and has authorized the non-agricultural use for institutional conservation purposes on a large part of the area included in the project, i.e., on approximately 5.98 km2;

CONSIDERING THAT the majority of the lots covered by the request include natural environments with high ecological value, including wetlands and watercourses, considerably reducing their potential for agricultural development;

CONSIDERING THAT the specifically projected use, namely "9212 – Reserve for wildlife protection", is not currently authorized in the specification grids of zones Ag-19-006, Ag-20-002, Ag-21-002, and Pu-21-006 covered by the request, in accordance with Zoning Bylaw number 532-2020;

CONSIDERING THAT the project should not have a significant impact on agricultural activities or on the homogeneity of the agricultural environment, with the exception of lots 1 372 444 and 2 466 808, which have high agronomic potential and are currently cultivated;

CONSIDERING THAT these two lots should be excluded from the request in order to ensure their preservation for agricultural purposes, in accordance with the principles of the sustainability of agricultural activity;

CONSIDERING THAT the request for authorization of use for purposes other than agriculture for institutional conservation purposes, with the exception of lots 1 372 444 and 2 466 808, is in line with the guidelines of the revised Land Use and Development Plan number 2050-2016;

CONSEQUENTLY, this Committee recommends that the council support, to the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec, the authorization request filed by the ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs for the creation of a wildlife refuge, with the exception of lots 1 372 444 and 2 466 808 of the cadastre du Québec, due to their high agronomic potential and their contribution to the sustainability of agricultural activity.

AND to proceed with an amendment to Zoning Bylaw number 532-2020 in order to authorize, specifically, the use "9212 - Reserve for wildlife protection", falling under the use category "Recreation (P1)" in the specification grids of zones Ag-19-006, Ag-20-002, Ag-21-002, and Pu-21-006.

RECOMMENDED UNANIMOUSLY