Case information

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Municipal law – Zoning – Permitted uses – Legislation – Interpretation – Conflicting legislation – Government department authorizing operation of quarry on strength of municipal certificate of compliance with zoning and of mining lease granted by Minister – Land in zone being used for residential purposes, and challenge resulting – Mining leases exempted by law from requirement of certificate of compliance with zoning – Whether use of extraction can be implicitly permitted in zone including residential use even though it prohibited in residential zone – Whether legislative exemption from zoning must be construed as being consistent with regulatory obligation to comply with zoning in certain cases – Whether Court of Appeal erred in interpreting relevant provisions narrowly rather than adopting interpretation that consistent with fundamental rights – Charter of human rights and freedoms, R.S.Q., c. C 12, s. 46.1 – Regulation respecting the application of the Environment Quality Act, R.R.Q., c. Q 2, r. 3, s. 8 – Regulation respecting pits and quarries, R.R.Q., c. Q 2, r. 7, s. 10 – An Act respecting land use planning and development, R.S.Q., c. A 19.1, s. 246.

The owners of a lot in La Bostonnais sought permission to extract minerals from the ground; Bétonnière La Tuque applied to the appropriate Minister for authorization. Some neighbours opposed this. In the zone in question, designated AF6 and described as an [TRANSLATION] “agroforestry” zone, a number of uses were permitted: one-family residential, two-family residential, mobile home residential, seasonal residential, rural commercial, and agricultural, as well as the transformation of natural resources. According to the zoning regulation’s use grid, pits and quarries were instead permitted in P, or public, zones. Nevertheless, the municipality provided the Ministère de l’Environnement with a certificate of compliance. In May 2008, the Ministère authorized the operation of a 6,500-square-metre quarry. Crushing was to be carried out for 20 days, after which the cement company would be able to supply its needs for several years. In 2009, the authorization was amended on the strength of a mining lease, as the underground minerals relevant to this case still belonged to the state.