AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE – MINUTES – 118th meeting / Thursday, November 14, 2024 at 5:37 p.m.

The PowerPoint document "Plan de développement de la zone et des activités agricoles (PDZAA) – Bilan des actions 1.3 et 1.7" is presented to the members. The presentation is broken down into the following sub-themes:

• Action 1.3:
  • Acquisition of necessary skills/knowledge;
  • Organization;
  • Communication/Promotion;
  • Support;
  • Challenges.
• Action 1.7:
  • Before 2022-2023;
  • 2022-2023;
  • Others.

After the presentation, questions, answers, and comments are formulated regarding, among other things:

• There is a desire to draw inspiration from the example of the Ville de Laval to stimulate production on unexploited agricultural land;
• Solicitations have been conducted with the existing L’ARTERRE network. A mailing to all agricultural operations remains to be done;
• 53% of agricultural land is not owned by farmers. Currently, these owners have no incentives to develop these lands and still hope to see their agricultural lands integrated into the urban perimeter. Awareness work needs to be done;
• These owners do not wish to exploit their land temporarily while waiting for hypothetical inclusion in the urban perimeter, because they want to prove that agricultural development is not possible;
• Owners who hope to be able to build housing on agricultural land and who do not exploit their land have an upward effect on the cost of agricultural land;
• There is a desire for the City to send a clear message to inform these owners that the urban perimeter will not change;
• The inclusion of agricultural land in the urban perimeter in Ontario gives hope to these owners that the same thing could happen on the Quebec side;
• Agricultural territory is a wealth for the Ville de Gatineau, and the objective is to enhance it;
• The latest data to identify agricultural lots that are in production and those that are not dates back to 2016. However, any agricultural operation registered within the meaning of the Loi and which generates income of $5,000 or more appears on the assessment roll. The City has access to this information, which is renewed annually as part of the Programme de crédit de taxes foncières agricoles;
• The possibility of introducing a fee for unexploited properties located in the agricultural zone is included in the work plan of the Plan de développement de la zone et des activités agricoles (PDZAA), and is also being evaluated by the Finance Committee of the Ville de Gatineau. The funds from the fees could be invested in a fund aimed at the development of agriculture, whether it be land consolidation or project support.

The PowerPoint document "État d’avancement : Entente sectorielle de développement du secteur bioalimentaire de l’Outaouais" is presented to the members. The presentation is broken down into the following sub-themes:

• What is a sectoral agreement?;
• The ESBO in broad strokes;
• ESBO-2 report;
• Findings;
• Next steps: towards a one-year extension;
• 2022-2026 provisional budget.

After the presentation, questions, answers, and comments are formulated regarding, among other things:

• The extension of the ESBO for an additional year will allow work on the ESBO-3;
• The Committee's recommendation for the extension or not of the ESBO-2 will not contain a financial sum. The municipal council will decide on this sum if it approves the extension;
• The provisional budget for the year 2025-2026 is temporary, as some partners have not yet taken a position.

R-CCA-2024-11-14/05

CONSEQUENTLY, this Committee recommends that the council approve the extension of the Entente sectorielle de développement du secteur bioalimentaire de l’Outaouais (ESBO-2) for a period of one year, and allocate the necessary funds to it.

RECOMMENDED UNANIMOUSLY