{"id":67466,"date":"2024-05-16T10:07:28","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T14:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fondationrivieres.org\/?page_id=67466"},"modified":"2025-05-23T11:10:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T15:10:07","slug":"acquisition-acces-publics-a-leau","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fondationrivieres.org\/en\/notre-expertise\/boite-a-outils\/acquisition-acces-publics-a-leau\/","title":{"rendered":"Levers for acquiring new public access to water"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fondation Rivi\u00e8res<\/a><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Levers for acquiring new public access to water<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What are the levers that make it easier for municipalities to acquire new public access to water?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A brief regulatory overview for municipalities<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Citizens are increasingly demanding access to rivers and streams. Such public access is also important for adapting to climate change, as it provides access to nearby nature and places to cool off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In Quebec, the public can move freely on a lake or body of water, provided they have legal access to it (ar. <\/span>920 of the Civil Code<\/span><\/a>). A public lot (municipal, federal or provincial) must therefore be riparian to allow the general public access to a lake or river.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Recently, this concern to make lakes and rivers accessible to all has come to the fore through modifications to the<\/span> Law on development and town planning<\/span><\/i><\/a> (<\/span>Bill no. 67<\/span><\/a> or PL-67 - assented to March 25, 2021). As a result, regional county municipalities (RCMs) are now required to indicate in their development plans which rivers and lakes are of interest for recreation and tourism (art. 5, par. 10).<\/span><\/p>

Please note that this article is not legal advice. If you have more specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact MAMH directly. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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But how can municipalities provide public access to these lakes and rivers of interest? <\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There are three main mechanisms by which municipalities can acquire lots to provide access to rivers and lakes. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The right of pre-emption<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Since 2022, municipalities have had a <\/span>right of pre-emption<\/span><\/a> municipalities, made possible by the<\/span>article 1104.1.1 of the <\/span>Quebec Municipal Code<\/span><\/i><\/a> and article 572.0.1 of the <\/span>Cities and Towns Act<\/span><\/i><\/a>. <\/span><\/i>This right allows a municipality to acquire a lot or building in priority, when it is put up for sale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

To implement the right of pre-emption, a municipality must :<\/span><\/p>

  1. Adopt a bylaw delimiting the territory in which the right of pre-emption is exercised AND<\/span><\/li>
  2. Clearly indicate the purpose for which the property may be acquired (e.g. parks, sports facilities, access, library, etc.). Each owner concerned must then be notified, and the right of pre-emption is entered in the land register (for a period of 10 years).<\/span><\/li><\/ol>

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    Then, if the building or lot is for sale, the municipality receives a notice and has 60 days to make an offer.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\tWould you like to know more about shoreline access regulations?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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    Free transfer or contribution for park purposes of part of a lot covered by a subdivision or building permit <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    According to the <\/span>Law on development and town planning<\/span><\/a> (articles 117.1 to 117.16), a municipality may adopt a subdivision by-law for all or part of its territory, requiring approval of a cadastral operation (e.g. building permit, work permit, etc.):\u00a0<\/span><\/p>