R-25.03 - Act respecting the Réseau structurant de transport en commun de la Ville de Québec

Updated to 1 October 2024

This document has official status.

chapter R-25.03

Act respecting the Réseau structurant de transport en commun de la Ville de Québec

CHAPTER I PURPOSE

2019, c. 15, c. I.

1. The purpose of this Act is to allow the carrying out of a shared transit project publicly announced by Ville de Québec as the “Réseau structurant de transport en commun de la Ville de Québec” (Network), which includes a tramway.

The Act also sets out the terms governing the transfer of the Network to the Société de transport de Québec for operation by the latter.

2019, c. 15, s. 1.

CHAPTER II CARRYING OUT OF THE NETWORK PROJECT

2019, c. 15, c. II.

2. Despite section 3 of the Act respecting public transit authorities (chapter S-30.01), only Ville de Québec has jurisdiction to carry out the Network project.

Ville de Québec may, within the scope of that jurisdiction, acquire any property required for the construction and operation of the Network, dig a tunnel under any immovable regardless of its owner, and build any accessory works.

Ville de Québec succeeds to the rights and obligations of the Société de transport de Québec for any decision made by the Société regarding the Network project since 1 January 2018.

2019, c. 15, s. 2.

3. Any decision made by Ville de Québec with regard to the Network project that must be authorized or approved by the Government, or authorized or approved under the measures determined by the Conseil du trésor under section 14 of the Public Infrastructure Act (chapter I-8.3), must be submitted by Ville de Québec to the Société de transport de Québec for prior consultation.

2019, c. 15, s. 3.

4. For the purposes of the tendering process for any contract necessary for the Network project, subparagraph 2 of the second paragraph of section 573.1.0.5 of the Cities and Towns Act (chapter C-19) is to be read without reference to “, which may not exceed six months,”.

2019, c. 15, s. 4.

5. For the purposes of the Network project and despite any contrary provision, Ville de Québec must, in any contract for the acquisition of mass transit vehicles, impose on the supplier an obligation to contract 25 percent of the contract value in Canada. Ville de Québec may also include a provision requiring the supplier to have final assembly carried out in Canada.

For the purposes of this section, “mass transit vehicle”, “contract value in Canada” and “final assembly” have the meanings assigned to them by Annex 19-4 of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union and its Member States as it reads on 19 June 2019.

2019, c. 15, s. 5.

6. No fee, duty, tax or cost of any nature, under a city’s authority, may be levied against Ville de Québec for the issue of a certificate of approval, building permit or occupancy permit in connection with the Network.

2019, c. 15, s. 6.

CHAPTER III OWNERSHIP TRANSFERS

2019, c. 15, c. III.

DIVISION I OWNERSHIP TRANSFERS BY EXPROPRIATION

2019, c. 15, Div. I.

7. Subject to sections 571 and 572 of the Cities and Towns Act (chapter C-19), Ville de Québec may, for the purposes of the Network project, expropriate any property required for the construction and operation of the Network.

In the case of an expropriation allowed under the first paragraph,

(1)  the municipality’s notice of transfer of ownership provided for in section 8 of this Act replaces the notice of transfer of right provided for in section 38 of the Act respecting expropriation (chapter E-25);

(2)  the municipality’s notice of transfer of ownership must be sent to the expropriated party but need not be served; and

(3)  the divested parties may not apply to remain in possession of the expropriated property.

Consequently, the first paragraph of section 4, the obligation to have a notice served set out in the second paragraph and subparagraph 2 of the third paragraph of section 38, and section 42 of the Act respecting expropriation do not apply to such an expropriation. The other provisions of that Act apply, with the necessary modifications.

2019, c. 15, s. 7; 2023, c. 27, s. 212.

8. The municipality’s notice of transfer of ownership must contain

(1)  the amount of the offer made by Ville de Québec;

(2)  the date on which Ville de Québec is to take possession of the property; and

(3)  the obligation for the divested party to vacate the premises before the date on which Ville de Québec takes possession of the property.

The documents establishing that the provisional indemnity has been paid to the expropriated party or filed on that party’s behalf with the office of the Superior Court must be attached to the notice.

Ville de Québec may designate any member of its personnel to sign the notice.

2019, c. 15, s. 8; 2023, c. 27, s. 213.

9. Despite the modifications to the Act respecting expropriation (chapter E-25) provided for in section 7, if property includes all or part of a residential building, Ville de Québec may not register its notice of transfer of ownership before the expiry of 12 months following registration of a notice of expropriation in the land register. That period is increased to 18 months if the building is used, even in part, for agricultural, commercial or industrial purposes.

In all cases, the expropriated party may consent to the municipality’s notice of transfer of ownership being registered within a shorter period.

2019, c. 15, s. 9; 2023, c. 27, s. 240.

10. Where Ville de Québec orders, by resolution, the expropriation of property or the establishment of a reserve for public purposes on the property, the clerk must, without delay, send a certified copy of the resolution to the clerk of any other city concerned.

After receiving the resolution or, in the case of Ville de Québec, after adopting the resolution, the city concerned may not, except for urgent repairs, issue a permit or certificate or grant an authorization for a structure, alteration or repair in connection with such property. Such a prohibition ceases six months after the date of adoption of the resolution.

No compensation is granted for buildings erected or improvements or repairs, other than authorized urgent repairs, made to the immovable during the prohibition period. However, the Administrative Tribunal of Québec may grant an indemnity as provided for in Part III of the Act respecting expropriation (chapter E-25).

2019, c. 15, s. 10; 2023, c. 27, s. 214.

DIVISION II TRANSFERS BY OPERATION OF LAW

2019, c. 15, Div. II.

11. (Repealed).

2019, c. 15, s. 11; 2023, c. 27, s. 215.

CHAPTER IV TRANSFERS OF TRANSPORTATION ASSETS AND FINANCING

2019, c. 15, c. IV.

12. Ville de Québec and the Société de transport de Québec must enter into an agreement for the transfer of the transportation assets of Ville de Québec resulting from the Network project, including, in particular, the tramway cars, buses, tracks, platforms, stations, workshops, garages, parking lots and tunnels.

An agreement entered into under the first paragraph must be approved by the Minister, who may approve it with or without amendment.

The Minister may determine the deadline for entering into an agreement. If no agreement providing for the transfer of the assets has been entered into by that deadline, the assets are transferred on the conditions and the date or dates determined by the Minister. In such a case, Ville de Québec must prepare all documents required for the transfer ahead of time. The documents must include the value of the transportation assets and the conditions for their transfer. The documents must be sent to the Minister for approval, who may approve them with or without amendment.

The registrar of the registration division concerned must register every statement signed by the director general and the secretary of the Société describing the property transferred under this section and declaring the right of ownership of the Société in the property.

The Minister may, by order, exempt certain transportation assets referred to in the first paragraph from the transfer obligation, or make other transportation assets of Ville de Québec that are related to them subject to the obligation.

For the purposes of the first paragraph, public highways and private roads open to public vehicular traffic within the meaning of the Highway Safety Code (chapter C-24.2) are not transportation assets.

2019, c. 15, s. 12.

13. Despite Ville de Québec’s borrowing power under section 543 of the Cities and Towns Act (chapter C-19), any long-term loan required to finance the transportation assets resulting from the Network project must be contracted by the Société de transport de Québec where a subsidy, referred to in section 1 of the Act respecting subsidies for the payment in capital and interest of loans of public or municipal bodies and certain other transfers (chapter S-37.01), is granted by the Gouvernement du Québec or one of its ministers for payment of the principal of and interest on the loan.

The Société may compensate Ville de Québec for sums the latter incurred for the Network project, up to the amount of the principal of the subsidy. If Ville de Québec and the Société fail to agree on the amount of compensation, the Minister may, if of the opinion that such compensation is justified, determine its amount and set the date for its payment.

Ville de Québec may not be designated a public body under section 4 of the Act respecting Financement-Québec (chapter F-2.01) for the financing of the Network project.

2019, c. 15, s. 13.

14. The Société de transport de Québec succeeds to the rights and obligations of Ville de Québec with regard to the transferred assets. Any proceedings concerning those assets to which Ville de Québec is a party are continued by the Société without continuance of suit.

Despite the first paragraph, the Société does not succeed to the obligations of Ville de Québec with regard to loans contracted by the latter to finance the transferred assets.

2019, c. 15, s. 14.

CHAPTER V SERVITUDE

2019, c. 15, c. V.

15. Any road under the Minister’s or a municipality’s management that is crossed or bordered by tracks for the Network’s tramway, and any immovable under the Minister’s or a municipality’s authority that is deemed necessary by the Minister or municipality, as applicable, for the Minister’s or municipality’s purposes, are subject, without indemnity, to a servitude affecting the site required for the Network project or the operation, alteration or extension of the Network, from the making of an agreement specifying the terms and conditions of the servitude.

During the Network’s project phase, the agreement is entered into by Ville de Québec, the Société de transport de Québec and, as applicable, the Minister or municipality. Once the Network is operational, the agreement is entered into by the Société and, as applicable, the Minister or municipality.

Once the agreement has been entered into, Ville de Québec and the Société may publish the servitude in the land register. Ville de Québec, during the Network’s project phase, or the Société, once the Network is operational, is required to publish the servitude if

(1)  the management of the road devolves to the Minister or a municipality under the Act respecting roads (chapter V-9);

(2)  the road is permanently closed; or

(3)  the servient land is disposed of without having been included in a road’s right of way.

The Minister or municipality, as applicable, must inform the Sociéte without delay, and must inform Ville de Québec during construction of the Network, of a devolution, closure or disposition referred to in the third paragraph.

Registration of the servitude is obtained by filing a notice that describes the site of the servitude, states its terms and conditions and refers to this section.

In all cases, the servitude is extinguished with the dismantling of the Network.

2019, c. 15, s. 15.

CHAPTER VI AMENDING PROVISIONS

2019, c. 15, c. VI.

Charter of Ville de Québec, national capital of Québec

16. (Amendment integrated into c. C-11.5, s. 74.7).

2019, c. 15, s. 16.

Act respecting the exercise of certain municipal powers in certain urban agglomerations

17. (Amendment integrated into c. E-20.001, Title IV.1.1, s. 118.23.1).

2019, c. 15, s. 17.

Act to ensure safety in guided land transport

18. (Amendment integrated into c. S-3.3, s. 4).

2019, c. 15, s. 18.

Act respecting public transit authorities

19. (Amendment integrated into c. S-30.01, s. 154).

2019, c. 15, s. 19.

20. (Amendment integrated into c. S-30.01, s. 155).

2019, c. 15, s. 20.

21. (Amendment integrated into c. S-30.01, ss. 162.1 to 162.7).

2019, c. 15, s. 21.

CHAPTER VII MISCELLANEOUS AND FINAL PROVISIONS

2019, c. 15, c. VII.

22. The Railway Act (chapter C-14.1) does not apply to Ville de Québec when it is exercising its jurisdiction under section 2.

2019, c. 15, s. 22.

23. Any act done by Ville de Québec since 1 January 2018 in connection with the Network project is deemed to have been done under this Act.

2019, c. 15, s. 23.

24. At the request of the Minister of Transport, Ville de Québec and the Société de transport de Québec must provide the Minister with any document or information the Minister considers useful concerning the Network project or the operation of the Network.

2019, c. 15, s. 24.

25. The Minister of Transport must, not later than 45 days after 30 March and 30 September of each year and until the work for the Network project is completed, make public a progress report indicating whether, on each of those dates, the work is on schedule and within budget.

2019, c. 15, s. 25.

26. The Minister of Transport is responsible for the administration of this Act.

2019, c. 15, s. 26.

27. (Omitted).

2019, c. 15, s. 27.