2021-2022: Our impact

2022 November 29

For almost 10 years, the CQDE has remained committed to protecting the smallest frog in Quebec. In 2021, this threatened species saw its critical habitat endangered by the extension of a boulevard in Longueuil. In October 2021, the CQDE, along with SNAP Québec and a citizen, filed a lawsuit in Federal Court and an appeal before the Superior Court of Quebec to bring work to a halt as a matter of urgency. In December 2021, the two organizations won their case.

Thanks to our action, work was indeed stopped, and an emergency decree was issued pursuant to the Species at Risk Act.

In the summer of 2021, the CQDE published a research report confirming that the National Assembly had all the powers necessary to put an end to oil and gas exploration and exploitation

on its territory, retroactively and without compensation. In addition to having helped move the subject to the heart of the political agenda, the report was widely cited in the media and directly fuelled the debates leading to the adoption of Bill21, An Act mainly to end petroleum exploration and production and the public financing of those activites throughout Quebec. A decisive victory for the environment after years of citizen mobilization, to which the CQDE is proud to have actively contributed!

Information on large water withdrawals in Quebec are still kept secret, posing a challenge for sustainable water management and for citizen participation in environmental decisions. After various efforts at awareness-raising and mobilization by the CQDE, the National Assembly of Quebec unanimously adopted a motion highlighting that “sustainable water management is based on transparency” and inviting reflection on a modification of the legal framework in order to ensure public disclosure of information on the quantities of water withdrawn. At the same time, a number of municipalities across Quebec have passed resolutions to demand more transparency and show their support. The issue is now well and truly on the political agenda, and we will continue to use the legal, political, and mobilization avenues available to us to finally lift the secrecy on major water withdrawals.

Each year, the CQDE team responds to numerous requests for legal information from the general public, environmental organizations, journalists, and elected officials attempting to better understand what the law can do to protect the environment. This year, the number of requests processed by the Enviro Hotline increased by 24%, with a total of 347 such requests. By way of this mechanism, elected municipal officials learned about their municipality’s powers regarding environmental protection in agricultural areas; a private citizen was prompted to propose that his municipal council adopt a resolution to request transparency regarding water withdrawals; and a number of citizens discovered how to express their opinion on zoning changes proposed by their municipality and how these changes could be implemented to promote environmental protection…and much more besides, all across Quebec! To increase the reach of this tool, the CQDE advised groups involved in the Réseau Demain le Québec (the Quebec of tomorrow network) as part of a partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation. Around 100 members of this network were notably able to participate in a webinar to learn how to use the law to amplify their citizen actions.