V-5.1 - The Cree Villages and the Naskapi Village Act

Updated to 1 April 1999

This document has official status.

chapter V-5.1

The Cree Villages and the Naskapi Village Act

1979, c. 25, s. 116.

DIVISION I INTERPRETATION

1. In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise,

(1)  “Cree Regional Authority” means the public corporation constituted by the Act respecting the Cree Regional Authority (chapter A-6.1);

(2)  “Cree Band” means any of the bands within the meaning of the Indian Act (Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, chapter I-5) of Fort George, Old Factory, Rupert House, Waswanipi, Mistassini, Nemaska, Great Whale River and Eastmain, until its incorporation as the corporation provided for in Section 9 of the Agreement and, thereafter, the said corporation;

(2.1)  “Naskapi Band” means the band, within the meaning of the Indian Act, known as the Naskapis de Schefferville, until its incorporation as the corporation provided for in section 7 of the Northeastern Québec Agreement and, thereafter, the said corporation;

(3)  “Cree community” or “community” means a collectivity composed of all the Crees enrolled or entitled to be enrolled on a community list in accordance with the Act respecting Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native persons (chapter A-33.1);

(4)  “Inuit community of Fort George” means the collectivity composed of all the Inuit enrolled or entitled to be enrolled on the Fort George Inuit community list in accordance with the Act respecting Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native persons;

(4.1)  “Naskapi community” means the collectivity composed of all the Naskapis enrolled or entitled to be enrolled in the Naskapi register in accordance with the Act respecting Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native persons;

(5)  “ratepayer” means a person obliged to pay a tax to the municipality;

(6)  “Agreement” means the Agreement described in section 1 of the Act approving the Agreement concerning James Bay and Northern Québec (chapter C-67), as well as Complementary Agreements Nos. 1 and 3 tabled in the National Assembly, 18 April 1978, as Sessional Papers, No. 114;

(6.1)  “Northeastern Québec Agreement” means the Agreement contemplated in section 1 of the Act approving the Northeastern Québec Agreement (chapter C-67.1);

(7)  “Cree” or “James Bay Cree” means a beneficiary under the terms of the Act respecting Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native persons;

(8)  “officer or employee of the municipality”, “officer of the council”, “municipal officer” or “officer of the municipality” means any officer or employee of the municipality, excluding the members of the council;

(9)  “Inuk” (“Inuk” in the plural) means an Inuk beneficiary under the terms of the Act respecting Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native persons;

(10)  “tenant” means any person who is bound to pay rent in money or to give part of the fruits or revenues of the immovable which he occupies, and who is a resident householder, saving the case of a lessee of a shop, store, office or place of business;

(11)  “member of the municipality” means each of the members of a Cree community forming a municipality having the status of Cree village or, as the case may be, each of the members of the Naskapi community forming the municipality having the status of Naskapi village;

(12)  “member of the council” means the mayor and any of the councillors of a municipality;

(13)  “Minister” means the Minister of Municipal Affairs;

(14)  “municipality” means a municipality constituted by this Act;

(15)  “Municipalité de Baie-James” means the municipality created by section 34 of the James Bay Region Development Act (chapter D-8);

(15.1)  “Naskapi” means a Naskapi beneficiary within the meaning of the Act respecting Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native persons;

(16)  “occupant” means any person who occupies an immovable in his own name other than as owner within the meaning of this Act, and who enjoys the revenues derived from such immovable; more particularly, the superficiary is an occupant of the ground underlying his right of superficies;

(17)  “owner” means any person who possesses immovable property in his own name as owner, as usufructuary or as institute in cases of substitution, or as possessor of lands in the public domain with a promise of sale, and more particularly, a superficiary is the owner of the works, structures, buildings and plantations being the subject of his right;

(18)  “resident” means any natural person who generally resides in the territory of the municipality, and any corporation, commercial partnership or association which has a place of business therein;

(19)  “sitting”, used alone, means an ordinary or general sitting or a special sitting of the council;

(20)  “oath”, in addition to its ordinary meaning, includes a solemn affirmation in the case of a person who does not have any religious belief or whose religious beliefs are contrary to the giving of an oath;

(21)  “municipal services” means water, sewer, fire protection, recreation, cultural activities, roads, garbage removal and disposal, lighting, heating, power and snow removal services furnished by a municipality;

(22)  “tax”, in addition to its ordinary meaning, includes any cost distribution, contribution or compensation imposed by a municipality pursuant to this Act;

(23)  “Category I lands”, “Category IA lands”, “Category IB lands”, “Special Category IB lands”, “Category I-N lands”, “Category IA-N lands” and “Category IB-N lands” mean the lands so designated and described by virtue of the Act respecting the land regime in the James Bay and New Québec territories (chapter R-13.1) or, in the meantime, by virtue of the Act respecting Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native persons.

1978, c. 88, s. 1; 1979, c. 25, s. 117; 1987, c. 23, s. 76; 1996, c. 2, s. 991.

DIVISION II CONSTITUTION OF THE CREE VILLAGES AND THE NASKAPI VILLAGE

1979, c. 25, s. 118; 1996, c. 2, s. 992.

2. A municipality having the status of Cree village is hereby constituted under the name of “Village cri de Whapmagoostui”. The municipality may also be designated under the Cree name of “Whapmagoostui Eeyoo Atawin” and under the English name of “Cree Village of Whapmagoostui”.

The municipality is a legal person established in the public interest formed by the members of the community of Great Whale River.

The Category IB lands and Special Category IB lands intended for that community form the territory of the municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 2; 1996, c. 2, s. 993.

3. A municipality having the status of Cree village is hereby constituted under the name of “Village cri de Chisasibi”. The municipality may also be designated under the Cree name of “Chisasibi Eeyoo Atawin” and under the English name of “Cree Village of Chisasibi”.

The municipality is a legal person established in the public interest formed by the members of the Cree community of Fort George and of the Inuit community of Fort George.

The Category IB lands and Special Category IB lands intended for the Cree community and the Category I lands intended for the Inuit community form the territory of the municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 3; 1996, c. 2, s. 993.

4. A municipality having the status of Cree village is hereby constituted under the name of “Village cri de Waskaganish”. The municipality may also be designated under the Cree name of “Waskaganish Eeyoo Atawin” and under the English name of “Cree Village of Waskaganish”.

The municipality is a legal person established in the public interest formed by the members of the community of Rupert House.

The Category IB lands and Special Category IB lands intended for that community form the territory of the municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 4; 1984, c. 27, s. 102; 1996, c. 2, s. 993.

5. A municipality having the status of Cree village is hereby constituted under the name of “Village cri de Wemindji”. The municipality may also be designated under the Cree name of “Wemindji Eeyoo Atawin” and under the English name of “Cree Village of Wemindji”.

The municipality is a legal person established in the public interest formed by the members of the community of Paint Hills.

The Category IB lands intended for that community form the territory of the municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 5; 1996, c. 2, s. 993.

6. A municipality having the status of Cree village is hereby constituted under the name of “Village cri de Nemiscau”. The municipality may also be designated under the Cree name of “Nemiscau Eeyoo Atawin” and under the English name of “Cree Village of Nemiscau”.

The municipality is a legal person established in the public interest formed by the members of the community of Nemiscau.

The Category IB lands intended for that community form the territory of the municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 6; 1996, c. 2, s. 993.

7. A municipality having the status of Cree village is hereby constituted under the name of “Village cri d’Eastmain”. The municipality may also be designated under the Cree name of “Eastmain Eeyoo Atawin” and under the English name of “Cree Village of Eastmain”.

The municipality is a legal person established in the public interest formed by the members of the community of Eastmain.

The Category IB lands and Special Category IB lands intended for that community form the territory of the municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 7; 1996, c. 2, s. 993.

8. A municipality having the status of Cree village is hereby constituted under the name of “Village cri de Waswanipi”. The municipality may also be designated under the Cree name of “Waswanipi Eeyoo Atawin” and under the English name of “Cree Village of Waswanipi”.

The municipality is a legal person established in the public interest formed by the members of the community of Waswanipi.

The Category IB lands intended for that community form the territory of the municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 8; 1996, c. 2, s. 993.

9. A municipality having the status of Cree village is hereby constituted under the name of “Village cri de Mistissini”. The municipality may also be designated under the Cree name of “Mistissini Eeyoo Atawin” and under the English name of “Cree Village of Mistissini”.

The municipality is a legal person established in the public interest formed by the members of the community of Mistassini.

The Category IB lands intended for that community form the territory of the municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 9; 1996, c. 2, s. 993.

9.1. A municipality having the status of Naskapi village is hereby constituted under the name of “Village Naskapi de Kawawachikamach”. The municipality may also be designated under the Naskapi name of “Naskapi E-you-sji Kawawachikamach” and under the English name of “Naskapi Village of Kawawachikamach”.

The municipality is a legal person established in the public interest formed by the members of the Naskapi community.

The Category IB-N lands form the territory of the municipality.

1979, c. 25, s. 119; 1996, c. 2, s. 993.

9.2. A municipality may also be designated, in French, under a name containing the words “Municipalité du village cri” or “Municipalité du village naskapi”, as the case may be, and the toponym constituting its name.

An equivalent name in Cree or Naskapi, as the case may be, and in English is also authorized.

1996, c. 2, s. 993.

10. When the territory of a municipality is modified, the by-laws, resolutions, and other municipal acts governing it before such modification shall not apply to any new territory included in the territory of the municipality, as the case may be, until after they have been declared applicable thereto by the council of the municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 10; 1996, c. 2, s. 994.

11. The territories of the Cree villages are excluded from the territory of Municipalité de Baie-James.

1978, c. 88, s. 11; 1996, c. 2, s. 995.

12. The Government may, upon request of the council of any municipality, grant letters patent to change its name. Such change of name made by letters patent shall have the same force and effect as if it had been effected by an Act.

This request shall not be presented to the Government a notice has been published at least one month beforehand in the Gazette officielle du Québec containing a summary of the object of such request; within the same delay, a public notice to the same effect shall be given in the territory of the municipality.

The Minister shall publish these letters patent in the Gazette officielle du Québec with a notice indicating the date upon which they will come into force.

Upon the coming into force of these letters patent, the municipality shall be designated under the new name mentioned in these letters patent. No change of name shall change any of the rights and obligations of the municipality, and any proceedings which may have been commenced or continued for or against the municipality under its first name may be so done for or against it under its new name.

1978, c. 88, s. 12; 1979, c. 25, s. 120; 1996, c. 2, s. 996.

DIVISION III COUNCIL OF THE MUNICIPALITY

1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

13. The municipality shall be represented and its affairs administered by its council.

1978, c. 88, s. 13; 1979, c. 25, s. 121; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

14. The council of a Cree village shall be composed of the persons exercising the offices of members of the council of the Cree Band having jurisdiction over the Category IA lands intended for the community, the members of which constitute the municipality. The council of the Naskapi village shall be composed of the persons exercising the offices of members of the council of the Naskapi Band having jurisdiction over the Category IA-N lands intended for the Naskapi community, the members of which constitute the municipality.

The chief and acting chief of the Cree or Naskapi Band shall be, respectively, the mayor and the acting mayor of the municipality.

In the case of the Council of the Cree Village of Chisasibi, if no Inuk from the Inuit community of Fort George is a member of the council by application of this section, one Inuk of the age of majority from this community shall be appointed to the council as an additional councillor; the appointment shall be made by the members of the age of majority of the Cree Village of Chisasibi from amongst those persons proposed by the Inuit community, which must submit at least two names.

In the case of the council of the Naskapi village, a person referred to in the first paragraph may be a member of the council only if he resides on Category I-N lands. If he ceases to reside on those lands during his term of office, he shall remain in office until the expiry of that term.

The members of the council of the Naskapi village must fill any vacancy resulting from the application of the fourth paragraph by appointing a person residing on Category I-N lands. If necessary, they shall designate the mayor or acting mayor from among their own number.

1978, c. 88, s. 14; 1979, c. 25, s. 122; 1996, c. 2, s. 997.

15. If the council cannot be formed in accordance with the first paragraph of section 14, the Minister, at the request of the interested Cree or Naskapi community, may name a provisional administrator and fix his salary, which shall be paid by the municipality.

This administrator shall take the place of the council and the mayor of the municipality, and of any official or employee of the same whose appointment is provided for in this Act if the said official or employee has not already been appointed. His mandate shall terminate as soon as a council has been formed in accordance with the first paragraph of section 14.

1978, c. 88, s. 15; 1979, c. 25, s. 123; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

16. The place of sittings of the council shall be within Category I lands intended for the interested community or within Category I-N lands intended for the Naskapi community, as the case may be, as determined from time to time by a resolution of the council.

Until the place of sittings of the council has been so determined, the council shall sit at the place where the meetings of the council of the interested Cree of Naskapi Band are held.

Occasionally, the council may hold a sitting at a place outside of the lands mentioned in the first paragraph; this place shall be determined by resolution at the preceding meeting.

1978, c. 88, s. 16; 1979, c. 25, s. 124.

DIVISION IV AGREEMENTS

17. Notwithstanding the Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif (chapter M-30), the municipality may, by a by-law of its council previously approved by the Gouvernement du Québec, enter into agreements with respect to the exercise of its powers with the Government of Canada or one of its bodies, or with a Cree or Naskapi Band.

1978, c. 88, s. 17; 1979, c. 25, s. 125; 1985, c. 30, s. 96; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

18. The municipality may also, by a by-law of its council previously approved by the Minister, enter into agreements with respect to the exercise of its powers with any public body, including a school commission or a municipality, whatever may be the Act governing it, and with the James Bay Regional Zone Council established by the Act respecting the James Bay Regional Zone Council (chapter C-59.1).

In the same manner, the Cree Village of Whapmagoostui and the Naskapi village may also enter into such an agreement with the Kativik Regional Government established by the Act respecting Northern villages and the Kativik Regional Government (chapter V-6.1).

1978, c. 88, s. 18; 1979, c. 25, s. 126; 1996, c. 2, s. 998.

19. The council of a municipality party to an agreement contemplated in section 17 or section 18 may provide therein for the formation of a joint committee composed of representatives of the municipality and of the other party to the agreement.

The council may delegate to this joint committee the whole or a part of the powers which it possesses with respect to the matter which is the subject of the agreement.

The agreements concluded under section 17 or 18 are not opposable to third parties.

1978, c. 88, s. 19; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

20. The municipality may, as well, by a by-law of its council previously approved by the Minister, enter into an agreement with the Cree Regional Authority by which it delegates to the latter the establishment of a municipal service which the municipality has decided to establish, the administration of a municipal service established by the municipality or the coordination of such a service with any service or program of another municipality or of a Cree or Naskapi Band.

The Naskapi village may also, in the same manner, enter into such an agreement with the Kativik Regional Government. If that agreement concerns the coordination of a municipal service, that coordination is made with a service or program of the Kativik Regional Government itself or of a municipality, whatever Act governs it, under its jurisdiction.

An agreement concluded under this section shall not be opposable to third parties.

1978, c. 88, s. 20; 1979, c. 25, s. 127; 1996, c. 2, s. 999.

DIVISION V ENVIRONMENT

21. The municipality may make by-laws respecting:

(a)  the protection and the quality of the physical and social environment; and

(b)  the protection and use of natural resources.

Such by-laws shall not come into force until they have been approved by the Government.

The Government shall approve them only if, in its opinion,

(a)  they enact protection and conservation requirements more stringent than those provided by the laws and regulations otherwise applicable;

(b)  they in no way restrict a development, which is under way or which is to take place outside the territory of the municipality, and which complies with the applicable laws and regulations; the word “development” has the same meaning as in the Agreement in the case of a by-law of a Cree village, or as in the Agreement and the Northeastern Québec Agreement in the case of a by-law of the Naskapi village.

The Minister of the Environment and Wildlife is responsible for the application of this section.

1978, c. 88, s. 21; 1979, c. 49, s. 35; 1979, c. 25, s. 128; 1994, c. 17, s. 75; 1996, c. 2, s. 1000.

DIVISION VI APPLICATION OF THE CITIES AND TOWNS ACT

22. Subject to this Act, every municipality is governed by the Cities and Towns Act (Revised Statutes, 1964, chapter 193) as it existed on 28 June 1978.

For the application of this section, sections 21 and 22 of chapter 52 of the statutes of 1977 are deemed to be in force as of 28 June 1978.

1978, c. 88, s. 22; 1979, c. 32, s. 17; 1979, c. 25, s. 129.

23. (1)  However, the Government may, by order, upon the request of any municipality, declare applicable to it certain provisions of the Cities and Towns Act (chapter C-19) as they will exist on the date of the coming into force of that order. If necessary, the order shall indicate which provisions of the Cities and Towns Act (Revised Statutes, 1964, chapter 193) or of the Cities and towns Act (chapter C-19) previously applicable are so replaced.

(2)  The Government may also, in the same manner and on the same conditions, declare that certain provisions of the Cities and Towns Act, (Revised Statutes, 1964, chapter 193) or of the Cities and Towns Act (chapter C-19), which at the time of the coming into force of the order will have ceased to exist will be inoperative, do not apply to a municipality.

(3)  The order made under the first paragraph must be tabled before the National Assembly if it is in session, within 15 days of its adoption by the Government. If the order is adopted while the National Assembly is not sitting, the order must be tabled before it within 15 days after the opening of the next session or resumption.

(4)  The order come into force on the fifteenth day of sitting following its tabling in accordance with subsection 3, unless before the tenth day of sitting a motion to cancel it is presented in the National Assembly.

(5)  The amendments made by this order have the same force and effect as if they had been made by an Act.

(6)  The Minister shall cause this order to be published in the Gazette officielle du Québec with a notice indicating the date of its coming into force. The Québec Official Publisher must insert in each annual volume of the statutes of Québec a table indicating the date of the coming into force of any order made before it is printed and the legislative provisions made applicable and those that cease to be so.

(7)  Upon the coming into force of an order, the provisions of the Cities and Towns Act (Revised Statutes, 1964, chapter 193) or of the Cities and Towns Act (chapter C-19) mentioned therein apply as they exist as of that date or cease to apply, as the case may be.

1978, c. 88, s. 23; 1996, c. 2, s. 1001.

24. The provisions of the Cities and Towns Act applicable to a municipality, as amended or replaced by this Act, as the case may be, are deemed an integral part of this Act with respect to that municipality.

1978, c. 88, s. 24; 1979, c. 25, s. 130.

§ 1 . — Provisions excluded

25. The following provisions of the Cities and Towns Act (Revised Statutes, 1964, chapter 193) shall not apply to the municipality: 1 to 4a, 12 to 17, 20 to 25, 27, 30 to 50, 55 to 60, 61a, 63, 64a, 69a, 69b, 78, the second paragraph of section 80, section 85a, 106, 107, 122 to 345, 398a to 398o, 412, 421, paragraph 17 of section 426, 429b to 432, 441, 475, 478a, 479a, 484 to 515, 520, 521a, 523, 524, 530, 531, 533, 576 to 579, 582 to 585, 587 to 604, 610c, and 642 to 697.

1978, c. 88, s. 25; 1992, c. 61, s. 626.

§ 2 . — Provisions which may be conditionally applied

26. From the date of the publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec of a notice by the Minister to the effect that he has received notification of the desire of the council to impose a real estate tax, the following sections of the Cities and Towns Act (Revised Statutes, 1964, chapter 193), as they existed on 28 June 1978, shall apply to the municipality: 518, 521, 522, 522a, and 548 to 575.

1978, c. 88, s. 26.

§ 3 . — Amended provisions

27. Sections 5, 19, 28, 29, 54a, 61, 62 and 64 of the Cities and Towns Act (Revised Statutes, 1964, chapter 193) are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“5. Any person required by the provisions of this Act or of a by-law of the council to sign his name upon a document and who is unable to do so, shall place thereon his mark in the presence of a witness who shall sign the said document.

“19. The first general sitting of the council shall be held on the date fixed by the Minister; the Minister shall not fix such date until he has determined that a majority of the members of the council have taken the oath provided for in section 62; he may appoint a person to call and prepare this first sitting and generally to exercise all the functions of the clerk until the latter had been named and sworn in.

“28. The municipality has jurisdiction for municipal and police purposes and for the exercise of all the powers conferred upon it, over its territory and also beyond it in special cases where more ample authority is conferred upon it.

A Cree village also has jurisdiction on the lands surrounded by its territory which, before 11 November 1975, had been ceded by letters patent to a person other than a Cree or which on this date were owned by such a person.

The Naskapi village also has jurisdiction on the lands surrounded by its territory which, before 31 January 1978, had been ceded by letters patent to a person other than a Naskapi or which on this date were owned by such a person.

“29. Whenever the territory of a municipality is bounded on any side by navigable or other waters, or by the bank or shores of such waters, the jurisdiction of the municipality for police purposes shall extend, in front of the territory, to the middle of such waters and upon the islands and outcrops therein found, if such area does not already form part of the territory of a municipality established under this Act or any other general or special Act.

If, however, the waters fronting the territory of the municipality are wider than 3 kilometers, this jurisdiction shall not be exercised beyond 1.5 kilometers from the bank or shores.

“54a. The acting mayor shall have and exercise the powers of the mayor when the mayor is absent from the Category I lands intended for the Cree community concerned, or from the Category I-N lands intended for the Naskapi community, as the case may be, or when he refuses or is unable to perform the duties of his office.

“61. In the case of refusal to act by the majority of the council, the Minister, at the request of the interested Cree or Naskapi community, may appoint a provisional administrator and fix his salary, which is paid by the municipality.

This administrator shall take the place of the council and the mayor of the municipality, and of any official or employee of the same whose appointment is provided for in this Act, if the said official or employee has not already been appointed.

His mandate terminates when that refusal to act ceases.

Instead of appointing a single provisional administrator, the Minister may appoint to this office the members of the council who do not refuse to act. He shall accordingly determine the place, the time and the frequency of the meetings of the provisional administrators, the rules governing the manner in which they may make a joint decision, and such other rules with respect to the conduct of their activities as he deems advisable.

“62. No person may act as mayor or councillor until he has taken the oath of office in accordance with the form provided in this section.

If the oath of office is taken during a sitting of the council before the clerk, an entry of the taking of such oath shall be made in the minute book of the council.

If the oath is taken at any other time, the certificate of oath must be tabled during the next sitting of the council in order that it may become part of the records, and mention of this tabling shall be made in the minute book of the council. The certificate of any oath of office which has taken place before the first meeting of the council must be sent to the Minister by registered or certified mail, within five days of the taking of this oath, by the person who has taken it.

A member of the council who has not taken the oath of office within 30 days following the latest of the dates mentioned below is deemed to have refused to act within the meaning of section 61:

(a)  the date upon which he was elected or appointed a member of the council of the Cree Band having jurisdiction over the Category IA lands intended for the Cree community concerned, or a member of the council of the Naskapi Band having jurisdiction over the Category IA-N lands intended for the Naskapi community, as the case may be,

(b)  the date upon which he was appointed a member of the council of the municipality in accordance with the fifth paragraph of section 14 of the Cree Villages and the Naskapi Village Act (chapter V-5.1), or

(c)  the date on which the municipality was incorporated.

FORM

Oath of office

I, the undersigned, .............. (surname, given names, occupation), domiciled at .............. (place), duly sworn on the Holy Gospels (Omit this phrase in making a solemn affirmation), solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will act in my capacity as .............. (designation of office) faithfully and in accordance with the law, without partiality, fear, favour or affection. So help me God! (Omit the final invocation in making a solemn affirmation.)

I, the undersigned, .............. (surname, given names, occupation), domiciled at .............. (place), hereby certify that the person designated above took the oath (or made the solemn affirmation replacing the oath of office) of office before me, on the Holy Gospels, at .............. (place), this .............. (day, month, year).

Signed: ..............

“64. The mayor and the councillors shall be entitled to the remuneration determined from time to time by by-law of the council submitted for approval to the Government.

The council may also authorize by resolution the payment of the expenses actually incurred by a member of the council on behalf of the municipality.

The council may, as well, by a by-law submitted to the Commission municipale du Québec for approval, establish a retirement plan and a retirement fund for the mayor and the councillors.”

1978, c. 88, s. 27 to s. 34; 1979, c. 25, s. 131 to s. 134; 1996, c. 2, s. 1002, s. 1003; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

28. Section 68 of the said Act is amended for the municipality:

(a)  by replacing subparagraph a of the first paragraph of subsection 2 by the following:

“(a)  establish a town-planning commission, composed of such number of members as it shall determine, who may be chosen from among the members of the council, the officers of the council, and the members of the municipality;”;

(b)  by striking out subsection 3.

1978, c. 88, s. 35; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

29. Sections 69, 70, 76, 95, 104 and 105 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“69. The council shall appoint by resolution such officers and employees as it deems necessary for the administration of the municipality and fix their salaries.

“70. Before entering into office, every municipal officer or employee shall take oath, according to the form contained in section 62, to well and faithfully perform the duties of his office.

“76. If any officer or employee of the municipality be absent from the Category I lands intended for the Cree community concerned or absent from the Category I-N lands intended for the Naskapi community, as the case may be, or should he die, his representatives or heirs shall, within one month from his death or absence, deliver, to the mayor or to the office of the council, the moneys, keys, books, papers, objects, documents, records, and other things belonging to the council, and which he had in charge or in use in the execution of the office so held by him.

“95. Subject to all other legal provisions, the treasurer shall deposit in any legally constituted bank, savings and credit union or trust company which may be designated by the council, the moneys arising from municipal taxes or dues, and all other moneys belonging to the municipality, and shall allow them to remain there until they are employed for the purposes for which they were levied, or until disposed by the council.

However, the treasurer may deposit these moneys in any other place or in any other manner approved by the Minister.

“104. Within 30 days before the end of each fiscal year, the council shall appoint one or more auditors who shall remain in office until the entry into office of their successors.

The auditors shall make an examination of the accounts of the municipality for the fiscal year following the 30 days contemplated in the first paragraph. They shall make a report of their examination to the council within 60 days after the expiry of the fiscal year.

A copy of such report, certified by the treasurer, must be sent by the latter, without delay, to the Minister.

The council may order any other examination it may deem necessary and call for a report.

Such auditors may be individuals or members of a partnership and may entrust the work to their employees, but then the responsibility of the auditors shall be the same as if such work had been entirely performed by such auditors themselves. In the case of a partnership acting as auditors, the taking of the oath of office by one of the partners shall be sufficient.

However, upon request of the council, the Minister may exempt them from the provisions of the present section.

“105. The Minister may, if he has reason to believe that it is justified, order a special audit of the accounts of the municipality for one or several of the five years preceding this decision.”

1978, c. 88, s. 36 to s. 41; 1979, c. 25, s. 135; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

30. Section 109 of the said Act is amended, for the municipality, by replacing paragraph 4 by the following:

“(4)  To prepare, with the chief officers of the departments, for each tri-monthly meeting of the council, a complete report of the work done during the three previous months with the suggestions he may deem useful to suggest for the work to be done in the ensuing three months.”

1978, c. 88, s. 42.

31. Sections 346, 351, 354, 362, 366, 367, 368, 372, 375, 376, 380 and 381 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“346. The council shall meet at least once every three months, in general or ordinary session, to despatch the business of the municipality, and shall hold its sittings on the days and at the hours which it determines by by-law.

“351. In case the mayor refuses to call a special sitting when deemed necessary by at least three members of the council, or by the other members of the council if it is composed of three members or less, such members may, by a requisition to the clerk of the municipality, duly signed by them, order the sitting to be called. Upon receipt of such requisition, the clerk of the municipality shall issue a notice to the members in the manner mentioned in section 350, provided such requisition specifies the business for which the sitting is called.

“354. If there is no quorum, two members of the council, or the member present if the council is composed of three members or less, 30 minutes after its being established that there is no quorum, may adjourn a meeting to a later date.

Special notice of such adjournment must be given by the clerk to all members of the council who were not present at such adjournment.

The hour of the adjournment, the names of the members of the council who were present, and the day and hour to which such meeting was adjourned, shall be entered in the minute book of the council.

“362. Every notice shall be either special or public, and shall be in writing.

Public notices shall be published; special notices shall be served.

“366. Every person having a right to receive a notice and who is not within the Category I lands intended for the Cree community concerned or is not within the Category I-N lands intended for the Naskapi community, as the case may be, may, by a special notice filed in the office of the council, appoint an agent residing within this territory to represent him for purposes connected with the service of municipal notices.

“367. The special notice addressed to an absent person who has appointed an agent residing within the territory pursuant to section 366, must be served on such agent in the same manner as if the person to whom it is addressed resided within this territory.

“368. Unless such person has made known his address in writing by filing the same in the office of the council, no one need give a special notice to a person absent within the meaning of sections 366 and 367 who has not appointed an agent.

“372. The publication of a public notice for municipal purposes shall be made by posting it in the office of the council.

“375. Except in cases otherwise provided for, the delay which is to elapse after a public notice shall begin to run from the day on which such notice is published.

In all cases, the day on which the notice was published shall not be counted.

Saving provision to the contrary, public notices shall be published at least seven clear days before the day fixed for the proceeding concerned.

“376. Public notices shall be applicable to and binding upon persons affected who are domiciled outside the territory envisaged in section 366 in the same manner as those who are domiciled therein.

“380. The council, of its own motion, may submit to the members of the municipality and to the residents of the municipality any question that may be the subject of a decision of the council.

The question shall be defined by resolution of the council.

The vote shall be taken in the manner provided in section 399, the provisions of which shall apply mutatismutandis.

The council may also exercise such power at the request of 20 persons contemplated in the first paragraph and then require, if it wishes, that the applicants pay such sum as it deems fair to meet the costs of taking the vote.

“381. Any procès-verbal, roll, resolution or other order of the council may be set aside by the Superior Court of the district in which the territory of the municipality is wholly or partly situated, by reason of illegality, in the same manner, within the same delay and with the same effect as a by-law of the council, in accordance with sections 411, 413 to 420 inclusively and 422. They shall be subject to the provisions of section 393.

The special recourse granted by this section shall not exclude or affect the action to annul in case where the same may be brought under the provisions of article 33 of the Code of Civil Procedure.”

1978, c. 88, s. 43 to s. 54; 1979, c. 25, s. 136; 1996, c. 2, s. 1004, s. 1019.

32. Sections 398 to 410 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“398. Except where the penalty applicable is prescribed in an Act, the council may, by by-law,

(1)  prescribe that a fine shall be imposed for an offence under a by-law within its competence;

(2)  prescribe a fixed amount of fine or the minimum and maximum amounts of the fine or the minimum amount of $1 and a maximum amount of fine.

The fixed or maximum amount prescribed shall not exceed, depending on whether the offender is a natural person or a legal person, $1 000 or $2 000 for a first offence and $2 000 or $4 000 for any subsequent offence.

“399. When a by-law is submitted for the approval of the members of the municipality and of the residents of the municipality, the vote shall be taken by ballot in the following manner:

(a)  the council shall fix the date or dates and the place of the poll, as well as the hours during which it will take place; the council may decide that the poll shall last only one day, or two days, consecutive or not, which shall be within a period of seven consecutive days; the date of the poll, or the first of the dates of the poll, as the case may be, shall not be later than 90 days from the date of the passing of the by-law by the council; the poll shall not open before seven hours and the poll shall last not less than 10 hours nor more than 12 consecutive hours; the place of the poll must be fixed at a place of easy access situated within the Category I lands intended for the Cree community concerned or within the Category I-N lands intended for the Naskapi community, as the case may be;

(b)  at least 15 days before the day, or the first day, as the case may be, fixed for the poll, the clerk shall give public notice calling upon the persons whose consent is required and who are qualified to vote; this notice shall indicate the date, or the dates, as the case may be, the place and the hours at which the poll will be held, as determined under paragraph a;

(c)  at least seven days before the day, or the first day, as the case may be, fixed for the poll, the clerk shall give public notice to the corporations, commercial partnerships and associations whose approval is required, informing them of the provisions of paragraph d;

(d)  any corporation, commercial partnership or association whose approval is necessary shall only have one vote; it shall vote through a representative appointed by resolution of its board of directors; this representative must, at the time of voting, comply with the requirements of paragraph g, and must, as well, be an employee, a director or a member of the corporation, commercial partnership or association in whose name he votes; the resolution referred to in this paragraph must be filed at the office of the clerk at least three days before the date fixed for the poll; this resolution shall be valid so long as it has not been replaced by another resolution for the same purposes;

(e)  the poll shall be presided over by the clerk of the municipality or by any other person named for that purpose by the council;

(f)  the vote shall be taken by secret ballot;

(g)  the natural persons whose approval is required, as well as the representatives of corporations, commercial partnerships and associations must, in order to be able to vote, be of age, be Canadian citizens and have no legal incapacity;

(h)  the following shall be printed on the ballot papers used for the poll, in the French language, and, if the council deems it advisable, in any other language:

 .....................................................
 .                                .                  .
 .   Êtes-vous en faveur du       .   1     OUI      .
 .   règlement numéro .........?  ....................
 .                                .                  .
 .                                .   2     NON      .
 .....................................................

(i)  the vote on the question submitted shall be given:

(1)  if in the affirmative, by marking on the ballot paper, with a black lead pencil, a cross in the space marked “oui”;

(2)  if in the negative, by marking on the ballot paper, with a black lead pencil, a cross in the space marked “non”;

(j)  at the close of the poll, the clerk or the person presiding thereat, as the case may be, shall proceed to count the ballots and make a list of them, counting and separating the yeas and the nays; except where otherwise provided by Act or regulation, if a counting of the ballots shows a majority of affirmative votes, the by-law shall be deemed to be approved by those persons qualified to vote; in the event of a tie in the vote, the mayor shall give the casting vote; such list shall be certified by the clerk or by the person presiding thereat, as the case may be, and must declare whether the by-law has been approved or disapproved, with the necessary particulars; such list shall be laid before the council at the next sitting; the poll book and the list of the votes shall be deposited in the archives of the municipality;

(k)  the expenses incurred by the holding of the poll shall be borne by the municipality.

“400. When a by-law is submitted for the approval of only the members of the municipality, the vote shall be taken according to the manner which the council may determine by by-law.”.

1978, c. 88, s. 55; 1979, c. 25, s. 137; 1992, c. 61, s. 627; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

33. Sections 411 and 422 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“411. Any member of the municipality or any resident, who, in the case of a natural person, is of the age of majority, may, by petition presented in his name, apply and obtain on the ground of illegality, the quashing of any by-law or any part of a by-law of the council.

Such petition shall be presented within three months and cannot be brought thereafter, following the coming into force of such by-law, to the Superior Court of the judicial district forming all or part of the territory of the municipality.

“422. (1)  Notwithstanding article 29 of the Code of Civil Procedure, there shall be no appeal from interlocutory judgments rendered in an action to quash a by-law under sections 411 and 413 to 420 inclusively. The party may, however, take exception to such judgments and they may be revised at the same time as the final judgment if an appeal is brought from the latter.

(2)  An appeal shall lie to the Court of Appeal from the final judgment rendered by the Superior Court in any matter mentioned in sections 381 to 411.”

1978, c. 88, s. 56, s. 57; 1996, c. 2, s. 1005.

34. Section 426 of the said Act is amended, for the municipality:

(a)  by replacing paragraph 1 by the following:

“(1)  To regulate the materials to be used in building and the manner of assembling the same; to prohibit any work not of the prescribed strength; to prescribe salubrious conditions and the depths of cellars and basements and the use to be made thereof; to classify, for purposes of regulation, dwellings, commercial establishments, industrial establishments and all other immovables, including public buildings; to regulate the places where each category of the aforesaid structures may be situated; to divide the territory of the municipality into zones of such number, shape and area as the council deems suitable for the purpose of such regulation and, with respect to each of such zones, to prescribe the architecture, dimensions, symmetry, alignment, and destination of the structures which may be erected therein, the use of any immovable located therein, the area and dimensions of lots, the proportion of lots which may be occupied by structures, the space which must be left clear between structures and the line of lots, the space which, on such lots, must be reserved and arranged for the parking, loading or unloading of vehicles, and the manner of arranging such space.

“Any such by-law must be approval by the majority of the members of the municipality who are of the age of majority and who voted, providing that a least one half of the members of the municipality who are of the age of majority did vote;”;

(b)  by striking out paragraph 1c;

(c)  by replacing paragraph 8 by the following:

“(8)  To compel the owners or occupants of lands, whether vacant or not forming part of the territory of the municipality, or their representatives or agents, to fence in such lands, and to regulate the mode of construction and the kind and quality of the materials, trees or shrubs to be used for fences;”;

(d)  by replacing paragraph 36 by the following;

“(36)  To compel the owners or occupants of vacant property forming part of the territory of the municipality to keep the same clear of any brush or other material or substance liable to communicate fire to adjoining property;”.

1978, c. 88, s. 58; 1996, c. 2, s. 1006.

35. Section 427 of the said Act is amended for the municipality:

(a)  by replacing paragraph 15 by the following paragraph:

“(15)  To provide that, in case the owner or occupant of such lot cannot be found and no one represents him, or should such owner or occupant, or other person in charge thereof, refuse or neglect to fence in, drain, cleanse, fill up or level the same, when so directed by the proper officer of the council, or be unable, by want of means, to fence in, cleanse, drain, fill up or level such lot, the council may have the same done and may provide that the amount expended thereon shall be a claim recoverable from the owner or occupant in the same manner as a special tax thereon;”;

(b)  by replacing paragraph 29 by the following paragraph:

“(29)  To levy, if the works are to be executed at the joint expense of the parties interested, on the owners or occupants of the lands forming part of the territory of the municipality and drained by the ditch or water-course, the sums required for such works, according to the length of the ditch or water-course upon the same; and to determine the mode of levying the taxes so imposed;”.

1978, c. 88, s. 59; 1996, c. 2, s. 1007.

36. Section 429 of the said Act is amended for the municipality:

(a)  by replacing paragraph 1 by the following paragraph:

“(1)  To order the opening of new streets, the closing, widening, extension or changing of existing streets; the streets shall have a width of at least 12 metres, but, in exceptional cases, the council may obtain from the Minister permission to open and maintain a road of lesser width, but not less than 9 metres; the by-law ordering the closing of one or of several streets must provide for the indemnity, if there be occasion therefor, and shall be subject to the approval of the Commission municipale du Québec before coming into force;

To prescribe the manner of making and maintaining the streets in the territory of the municipality wholly or partly at its expense or at the expense of the occupants of adjoining lots, as the council may deem expedient, according to such plans and on such conditions as it may deem advisable. The costs of construction or of maintenance at the expense of the occupants of adjacent lots shall be apportioned equally among them by the council and shall be imposed and recovered as a special tax;

The council may, without indemnity, alienate in accordance with paragraph 2 of subsection 1 of section 26, or reallocate to any purpose within its competence, the bed of a road closed pursuant to this paragraph, notwithstanding any restriction regarding the use or destination of such land imposed by a contractual or other stipulation;

(b)  by replacing paragraph 3 by the following paragraph:

“(3)  To oblige the occupants of lands situated on any road, street, square or public way, established in the territory of the municipality, to make and maintain in front of the land which they occupy, or on the opposite side of the street or road, sidewalks of wood, stone, or other material, in all or part of the territory of the municipality; and to determine the manner of making and maintaining such sidewalks, and even make and maintain them at the expense of the municipality or at the expense of the occupants of the abutting land or of the occupants of the land on the other side of the street, or of the occupants of land in part of the territory of the municipality; the cost of construction or of maintenance at the expense of the occupants of lands are apportioned equally among them by the council and shall be imposed and recovered as a special tax;”;

(c)  by replacing paragraph 8 by the following paragraph:

“(8)  To order the making of a master plan of the territory or of any portion of the territory of the municipality, specifying the purposes for which each portion of the territory included in the plan may be used;

To enact that such master plan shall become obligatory, to amend or repeal the same; such by-law shall require the same approval as that mentioned in paragraph 1 of section 426;

To regulate the laying of the public or private streets and the lanes or public places upon lands which the owners are subdividing into building lots; to prohibit such subdivisions and laying out of streets as well as lanes or public places which do not coincide with the master plan and to compel the owners of private streets and lanes to indicate, in the manner stipulated by the council, that the same are private;

To prescribe, according to the topography of the ground and the use for which they are intended, the manner of laying out public or private streets and lanes, the distance to be left between them and their width if it is to exceed 12 metres;

To compel the owner of any land to submit previously to the council of the municipality or to an officer or employee designated for such purpose by the council, any plan dividing or redividing such land or amending or cancelling the book of reference of a subdivision, whether such plan provides for streets or not, and to obtain from the council or the officer or employee concerned a subdivision permit;

To establish a tariff of fees payable for the issuance of such subdivision permit;

To enact in concert with the councils of other interested municipalities or interested Cree and Naskapi bands, the preparation of a joint master plan of the territory or a part of the territory of each of such municipalities or bands;

To render such plan obligatory within the territory of the municipality, as regards the portion which concerns it, to modify or to amend the same in concert with the councils of the other interested municipalities or interested Cree and Naskapi bands, wholly or in part; such by-law shall require the same approval as that mentioned in paragraph 1 of section 426;

To compel the owner of any land to submit previously any plan dividing or redividing such land or amending or cancelling the book of reference of a subdivision, whether such plan provides for streets or not, to a joint committee created for such purpose by the municipalities or the Cree or Naskapi bands interested in the joint master plan, and to obtain from the said committee a subdivision permit;

To establish a tariff of fees payable for the issue of such subdivision permit;

(d)  by replacing paragraph 36 by the following paragraph:

“(36)  To regulate the planting, cultivation and preservation of trees in the streets, square and parks in the territory of the municipality; to compel every proprietor or occupant to ornament his land with grass, shrubs or trees; to prohibit the planting of poplars or willows within a distance fixed by the council from any sidewalk, roadway or underground pipe; to regulate and prohibit without obtaining a licence issued in accordance with a tariff fixed by the council in all or part of the territory of the municipality, upon private as well as upon public property, the felling of trees situated outside of a nursery or woodlot within the meaning of the Act respecting municipal taxation (chapter F-2.1);”.

1978, c. 88, s. 60; 1979, c. 72, s. 490; 1979, c. 25, s. 138; 1996, c. 2, s. 1008.

37. Sections 429a, 433, 434, 435 and 436 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“429a. Notwithstanding any contrary or inconsistent provision of this Act, every by-law, resolution or ordinance made or passed by the municipality respecting the means of transport or transport systems by vehicle under the jurisdiction of the Commission des transports du Québec, the making of vehicles, the operation of heavy vehicles and the use of vehicles elsewhere than on public roads must be approved by the Minister of Transport before coming into force.

The Minister of Transport may approve the whole or part of any by-law, resolution or ordinance referred to in this section.

“433. The council may make by-laws to provide for the establishment or acquisition, maintenance, management and regulation of waterworks, public wells, cisterns or reservoirs to supply water in the territory of the municipality, and to instal hydrants, fountains, public drinking places and apparatus for filtering and purifying water.

“434. The municipality may construct or acquire, and maintain, in its territory, and with the approval of the Government, for a distance of 50 kilometres beyond its territory, waterworks, together with all appurtenances and accessories, the construction or acquisition whereof is determined under section 433; it may improve the waterworks and change the site thereof, and construct and maintain all buildings, engines, reservoirs, basins, and other works necessary to convey water.

“435. For the said purposes, the municipality may acquire and hold any building, servitude or usufruct, in its territory, and acquire and hold any immovable, servitude or usufruct within a radius of 50 kilometres of its territory; acquire a right of way wherever it may be necessary; pay any damage occasioned by such works, either to buildings or lands; enter into contracts with any person for the construction of the said waterworks and operate the waterworks when completed.

For the construction of the waterworks and its maintenance afterwards, the contractor for the works or the officers or employees of the municipality authorized by resolution of the council shall have the right to enter during the day-time upon the lands in the neighborhood of the waterworks and take and remove trees, stones, soil, sand and gravel, if they need them for the work of construction or maintenance, and to cut and remove trees and roots which might damage the waterworks, saving reasonable compensation agreed upon between the parties or fixed according to the provisions of section 436.

“436. When the parties cannot come to an amicable arrangement with respect to the acquisition of any immovable property for waterworks or for any of the purposes mentioned in the preceding sections, either within or without the territory of the municipality, or for the right of way through such property, or any servitude thereon, the same may be acquired by expropriation to the extent permitted by sections 605 and following.”

1978, c. 88, s. 61 to s. 65; 1979, c. 32, s. 18; 1996, c. 2, s. 1009, s. 1010; 1996, c. 2, s. 1011, s. 1012; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

38. Section 442 of the said Act is amended, for the municipality, by replacing paragraph 4 by the following paragraph:

“(4)  To establish the rate for water, in addition to the apportionment of the special tax referred to in section 439; to supply meters for buildings or establishments, for measuring the quantity of water used therein; and to fix the amount to be paid for the water and the rent of meters;”.

1978, c. 88, s. 66.

39. Sections 444, 452 and 454 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“444. The apportionments or taxes referred to in sections 439 and 442, as well as all other amounts due for water or for meters, shall be levied according to the rules and in the manner prescribed for general taxes.

“452. The municipality shall not be bound to warrant the quantity of water to be supplied; and no person may refuse, on account of the insufficiency of the water supply, to pay the apportionments or taxes referred to in sections 439 and 442.

“454. The council may, by by-law, transfer its rights and powers, respecting the water supply, to any corporation, firm or person willing to undertake the same provided that such corporation, firm or person does not exact, for the use of the water, rates higher than those approved or determined by by-law of the council.

Every such by-law must before coming into force be approved by the affirmative vote of one-half of the members of the municipality and of the residents who have voted, as well as by the Government.”

1978, c. 88, s. 67 to s. 69; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

40. Section 459 of the said Act is amended for the municipality by replacing subparagraph a of paragraph 1 by the following subparagraph:

“(a)  To determine, in addition to the apportionment or tax referred to in section 458, the compensation to be paid for light and for the rent of meters, and for supplying meters to measure the quantity of light consumed;”.

1978, c. 88, s. 70.

41. Section 460 of the said Act is replaced for the municipality by the following section:

“460. The apportionments, taxes or compensations referred to in sections 458 and 459 shall be levied according to the rules and in the manner prescribed for general taxes.”

1978, c. 88, s. 71.

41.1. Section 470 of the said Act is replaced for the municipality by the following section:

“470. The municipality may cause to be sold at auction, by a bailiff, without any judicial proceedings, and after the notices required for the sale of movable property under writ of execution, the objects, movable effects or other movable property in its possession whose owner cannot be found or which have been abandoned and are not claimed within two months.

The municipality may likewise sell any motor vehicle in its custody, abandoned or found and not claimed within 60 days; the time limit is 10 days in the case of a vehicle without a motor or in a ruinous state.

If the property is claimed after the sale, the municipality shall be liable only for the proceeds of the sale, after deducting the cost of the sale and other expenses which it may have incurred.

If the property cannot be sold because it has no market value, it may be destroyed after publication of similar notices, with the necessary modifications, and if it is claimed after destruction, the municipality shall not be liable for the payment of any indemnity or compensation.”.

1992, c. 61, s. 628; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

42. Section 473 of the said Act is amended for the municipality by replacing paragraph 6 by the following paragraph:

“(6)  To establish and maintain houses of refuge and other establishments for the support and relief of the destitute, and to subsidize institutions operating a hospital centre or charitable institutions established in the territory of the municipality or elsewhere in Québec;

Such grants to such institutions operating a hospital centre or charitable institutions may be paid by equal annual instalments over a period of not more than 25 years, and, in such case, only the approval of the Commission municipale du Québec shall be required;

1978, c. 88, s. 72; 1992, c. 21, s. 358; 1996, c. 2, s. 1013.

43. Section 474 of the said Act is amended, for the municipality, by replacing the second paragraph by the following paragraph:

“Every by-law adopted pursuant to paragraphs 4 and 5 of the first paragraph must, before coming into force, be approved by the affirmative vote of one-half of the members of the municipality and of the residents who have voted, and by the Government.”

1978, c. 88, s. 73; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

44. Sections 479 and 517 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“

479. (1)  Between 1 July and 31 July each year, the council shall prepare and adopt, by by-law, the budget for the next fiscal year and provide therein for revenues at least equal to the expenditures provided for therein.

(2)  The Minister may determine the contents of a document to be certified by the treasurer, which shall be appended to the budget of the municipality upon its filling and remain so appended.

“The document contemplated in the first paragraph shall be prepared in accordance with a form supplied by the Minister.

“(3)  The budget of the municipality must be transmitted to the Minister in the month of August of the year for which it was prepared and adopted.

“The Minister may order that such transmission be made by means of a form which he shall furnish for that purpose.

“Upon sufficient proof that the municipality has in fact been unable to prepare, adopt and put into effect or to transmit its budget within the prescribed delay, the Minister may grant any additional delay that he may determine for such purpose.

“517. Taxes shall bear interest, at the rate of 5% per annum, from maturity, without it being for such purpose necessary that a special demand for payment be made.

Neither the municipal council nor its employees may remit any taxes or the interest thereon.

However, at any time before the tax accounts begin to be sent, the council, as often as it considers it expedient, may, by resolution, enact a rate of interest different from the rate provided in the first paragraph. The decision of the council shall be effective only with respect to taxes shown in an account clearly stating the rate thus enacted. The resolution of the council shall remain in force until it is revoked.

The council may also, by resolution, grant a discount not exceeding 5%, to every ratepayer who pays his taxes before they are due.”

1978, c. 88, s. 74, s. 75; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

45. Sections 525 to 529 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following section:

“525. The council may impose and levy annually:

(1)  on the stock in trade or articles of commerce of all descriptions kept by merchants and dealers and exposed for sale in shops, or kept in vaults, warehouses or store-houses; on all yards or depots for rough, sawn or manufactured wood or lumber; and on all yards or depots for coal or other articles of commerce kept for sale, a tax of not more than 1% of the estimated average value of such stock in trade or other articles of commerce;

(2)  a tax upon all occupants, possessors or tenants of immovables in the territory of the municipality, the said tax being imposed on a uniform basis and not exceeding $0.08 in the dollar on the amount of rent or the rental value of the immovable or of the part of the immovable thus occupied, possessed or leased, as established on the roll of rental values, or, in the absence of such roll, as estimated by the council.”

1978, c. 88, s. 76; 1996, c. 2, s. 1014.

46. Sections 534, 535, 580 and 605 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“534. Any person, not being the debtor, who pays a municipal or school, general or special tax, or the water tax payable by a third person with the consent of the latter, shall be subrogated without other formality in the rights of the municipality against the debtor and may recover from him the amount of taxes so paid. Such subrogation shall be of no effect unless the receipt given by the treasurer of the municipality who is bound to issue such receipt states that the payment was made by a third party for the debtor.

The fact that the taxes were paid by a third party and that the latter is subrogated in the rights of the municipality must be noted in the books of the municipality and mentioned in every statement furnished by an officer of the council respecting the tax owed by any person. The omission of such mention shall render the municipality liable for the prejudice caused thereby to a third person, saving its recourse against the officer in default.

“535. In the case of any tax imposed on any firm or partnership, in respect of the business of such firm or partnership, such tax may be claimed and recovered in full from any member thereof.

“580. The municipality may, by by-law previously approved by the Commission municipale du Québec, borrow sums of money for all objects within its jurisdiction, on the terms and subject to the conditions established by the Commission.

In the same manner, the municipality may borrow sums of money in order to grant to its members loans for residential purposes, provided that such loans shall be used for the establishment or the improvement of a residence situated in the territory of the municipality.

“605. The council may, by complying with the provisions of sections 606 and 607 and the expropriation procedure established by law,

(a)  expropriate any immovable property, any part thereof or any servitude required for the execution of works ordered by it within its jurisdiction;

(b)  expropriate any immovable property, any part thereof or any servitude it may need for any municipal purpose, including the parking of motor vehicles.

This section shall not restrict the right which the council may otherwise have to acquire, by mutual agreement, immovables for the same purposes.

Nevertheless, the municipality cannot expropriate any lot of land, or any part thereof, forming part of its territory.”.

1978, c. 88, s. 77 to s. 80; 1996, c. 2, s. 1015, s. 1016; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

47. Section 610 of the said Act is amended, for the municipality, by replacing subsections 7 to 9 by the following subsections:

“(7)  The council shall not be obliged to accept either the lowest or any other of the tenders.

“(“8)  A council member who knowingly, by his vote or otherwise, authorizes or brings about the awarding or signing, without public tenders, of a contract subject to this formality under subsection 1 may be held personally responsible toward the municipality for any loss or damage suffered by it.

“Proceedings for the recovery of any loss or damage shall be by way of ordinary action. Any ratepayer may exercise this recourse.”

1978, c. 88, s. 81; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

48. (Repealed).

1978, c. 88, s. 82; 1990, c. 4, s. 901.

48.1. Division XII of the said Act is replaced by the following division:

“

DIVISION XII

“

““PENAL PROVISION

“(“611) Penal proceedings for an offence under a provision of this Act, the charter or any by-law of the council may be instituted by the municipality.

1992, c. 61, s. 629.

49. Section 629 of the said Act is replaced for the municipality by the following section:

“629. If there are no funds or if those at the disposal of the treasurer are not sufficient, the council shall, immediately after the service of the judgment, order the treasurer, by resolution, to levy, by an equal assessment upon all the members of the municipality and its residents, being of age in the case of natural persons, a sum sufficient to enable it to pay the amount due with the interest and costs.

The council may also proceed by way of a loan by-law.”

1978, c. 88, s. 83; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

§ 4 . — Provisions temporarily amended

50. Section 90 of the said Act is amended, for the municipality, by striking out paragraphs 2, 3 and 5.

1978, c. 88, s. 84.

51. Section 427 of the said Act is again amended for the municipality:

(a)  by replacing subparagraph c of paragraph 11 by the following subparagraph:

“(c)  To distribute the costs incurred by the municipality in the exercise of the powers contemplated in subparagraphs a and b, in an equal manner among the owners, occupants or tenants of each house, store or other building within the territory of the municipality or within any part thereof; the sums so required may be imposed and recovered as a special tax.

A person who is owner, occupant or tenant of more than one immovable contemplated by this paragraph shall be the debtor for the tax on each of the said immovables;

(b)  by replacing subparagraph a of paragraph 23 by the following subparagraph:

“(a)  Subject to the Environment Quality Act (chapter Q-2), to regulate the sewerage of the municipality and to construct or otherwise acquire any public sewer; the costs of construction, in whole or in part, of any public sewer, including connections, between such public sewer and private drains or between such public sewer and the street line if there be no private drain, including also the costs of such repairs as are rendered necessary in the saving on account of the construction of private drains, shall be assessed equally among the owners, occupants or tenants of the buildings situated on any street in which such a public sewer has been constructed; the sums so required may be levied and recovered as a special tax; the second subparagraph of subparagraph c of paragraph 11 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to this subparagraph;”;

(c)  by replacing the third paragraph of paragraph 26 by the following paragraph:

“To prescribe the mode, materials and time of construction and connection of such works and order that their total cost shall be levied and recovered as a special tax.”.

1978, c. 88, s. 85; 1996, c. 2, s. 1017.

52. Section 429 of the said Act is again amended for the municipality by replacing paragraph 2 by the following paragraph:

“(2)  To pave, macadamize or plank the whole or part of the streets of the municipality, and to pay the whole or part of the costs thereof out of the general funds of the municipality, or by an equal assessment of such costs or any part thereof amongst the owners, occupants or tenants of the buildings situated within a territory determined by the council, and the sums so required may be levied and recovered as a special tax; the second paragraph of subparagraph c of paragraph 11 of section 427 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to this paragraph;”.

1978, c. 88, s. 86; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

53. Sections 439, 440 and 458 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections.

“439. The council may, by by-law, assess over a certain number of years and among the owners or occupants of houses, stores or other buildings, in an equal manner, the costs of construction of waterworks, public wells, cisterns or reservoirs, or the costs of establishing a system of water distribution. The second subparagraph of subparagraph c of paragraph 11 of section 427 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to this section.

“440. The assessment provided for in section 439 shall be imposed and levied even upon the owners or occupants not availing themselves of the water from the waterworks, provided that the municipality has notified such owners or occupants that it is prepared at its own expense to bring the water to the line of the street opposite their respective houses, shops or buildings.

“458. The council may, by by-law, assess over a certain number of years and among the proprietors or occupants of the houses, stores or buildings, in an equal manner, the costs of introducing a system of lighting. The second paragraph of subparagraph c of paragraph 11 of section 427 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to this section.”.

1978, c. 88, s. 87 to s. 89.

54. Section 473 of the said Act is again amended for the municipality by replacing the second paragraph of paragraph 1 by the following paragraph:

“The council may assess, in an equal manner, among the members of the municipality and its residents, being of age in the case of natural persons, the amount which the municipality may be held to pay for damage occasioned to property by rioters or persons riotously assembled; the sums so required may be levied and recovered as a special tax.”.

1978, c. 88, s. 90; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

55. Section 516, 518a and 536 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“516. The council may, by resolution, whenever it sees fit, instruct the treasurer or any other officer to add to the amount of any taxes to be levied a sum of not more than 10%, to cover losses, costs and bad debts.

“518a. The costs of demolition, repairs, alteration and construction assumed by the municipality in exercising the powers contemplated in paragraphs 1b, 4a and 27 of section 426 shall constitute a claim to be levied and recovered as a special tax.

“536. The council may pass such by-laws as may be necessary to enforce the collection of any special tax imposed pursuant to this Act.”.

1978, c. 88, s. 91 to s. 93; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

56. Section 546 of the said Act is amended for the municipality by striking out the third paragraph.

1978, c. 88, s. 94.

57. Section 632 of the said Act is amended for the municipality:

(a)  by replacing subparagraph a of paragraph 2 by the following subparagraph:

“(a)  To apportion, in an equal manner, among the members of the municipality and the residents, being of age in the case of natural persons, the sums to be levied, with the same powers and under the same obligations and penalties as the council and the clerk, to whom he shall be lawfully substituted for the levying of such money;”;

(b)  by striking out subparagraph f of paragraph 2.

1978, c. 88, s. 95; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

58. Sections 634, 635 and 636 of the said Act are replaced for the municipality by the following sections:

“634. The sheriff shall have free access to the registers, collection rolls and other documents deposited in the office of the council, and he may demand the services of the officers of the municipality of such council, under the same penalties as if such services were required by the council itself.

“635. The sheriff shall take possession of all documents which are necessary to him for the execution of the judgment and orders of the court.

On the refusal or neglect of the municipal council or its officers to deliver up such documents, he may take possession thereof.

“636. If it is impossible for the seizing officer to obtain the list of persons bound to pay a part of the amount of the moneys to be levied, or if there is no such list, the sheriff shall, without delay, proceed to make the inquiries and censuses necessary to prepare such list; and he may base the special collection roll for the money to be levied on such list.

The costs incurred in making such inquiries and censuses, as taxed by the court from which the writ issued, shall from part of the costs of execution and shall be recoverable from the municipality.”

1978, c. 88, s. 96 to s. 98; 1996, c. 2, s. 1019.

59. Sections 50 to 58 of this Act shall cease to have effect as of the date of the publication of the notice contemplated by section 26 of this Act; the provisions of the Cities and Towns Act (Revised Statutes, 1964, chapter 193) replaced or struck out by these sections shall then apply as they existed on 28 June 1978.

The termination of effect mentioned in the first paragraph shall not however prejudice the levying or recovery of any tax or assessment assimilated thereto imposed before the date of the publication of the notice contemplated by section 26 pursuant to the provisions of the Cities and Towns Act (Revised Statutes, 1964, chapter 193) as replaced by sections 50 to 58 of this Act.

1978, c. 88, s. 99.

DIVISION VII APPLICATION OF THE ACT RESPECTING MUNICIPAL TAXATION

1979, c. 72, s. 490.

60. The Act respecting municipal taxation (chapter F-2.1) shall apply to the municipality as of the date of the publication of the notice contemplated by section 26.

1978, c. 88, s. 100; 1979, c. 72, s. 490; 1991, c. 32, s. 264.

DIVISION VIII EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION FOR LANDS

61. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of a general or special Act, all the lands forming part of the territory of the municipality shall be exempt from any real estate tax and their evaluation, their area or their frontage shall not in any case serve as the basis for the calculation of a tax.

Any provision of a general law or special Act enabling the imposition of a tax upon an immovable or real estate on the basis of its taxable value, of its area or of its frontage shall be deemed, when it applies to a municipality, to enable it to impose the tax on the sole basis of the taxable value of the immovable to the exclusion of the land.

The real value, and the taxable value, as the case may be, which must appear upon the valuation roll of the municipality pursuant to the Act respecting municipal taxation (chapter F-2.1), shall be the real value and the taxable value of the immovable, excluding the land.

1978, c. 88, s. 101; 1979, c. 72, s. 490; 1979, c. 25, s. 139; 1996, c. 2, s. 1018.

DIVISION IX TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

62. (Repealed).

1978, c. 88, s. 102; 1979, c. 25, s. 140; 1979, c. 35, s. 3.

63. The Minister shall be responsible for the application of this Act, with the exception of sections 21 and 62.

1978, c. 88, s. 103.

64. (Omitted).

1978, c. 88, s. 104.

65. (This section ceased to have effect on 17 April 1987).

1982, c. 21, s. 1; U. K., 1982, c. 11, Sch. B, Part I, s. 33.

REPEAL SCHEDULES

In accordance with section 17 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes and regulations (chapter R-3), chapter 88 of the statutes of 1978, in force on 1 June 1979, is repealed effective from the coming into force of chapter V-5.1 of the Revised Statutes.

In accordance with section 17 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes and regulations (chapter R-3), paragraphs 4-1 and 15-1 of section 1, section 9-1 and the last two paragraphs of section 14 of chapter 88 of the statutes of 1978, in force on 31 December 1981, are repealed effective from the coming into force of the updating to 31 December 1981 of chapter V-5.1 of the Revised Statutes.