Order in Council 750-2025 introduces amendments to the Agricultural Operations Regulation under the Environment Quality Act and related legislation. These regulatory changes are authorized under several sections of the Act, granting the Québec government power to regulate declarations of compliance for agricultural activities, define terms, and oversee the recovery, reclamation, and elimination of residual materials, along with managing the release of contaminants and installation of pollution control equipment. The amendments also enable the government to impose conditions, restrictions, prohibitions, and transitional measures for activities potentially impacting sensitive environments, including wetlands and flood-prone areas.

A major change introduced by the amendments is to exclude canid and felid raising facilities, fish farms, zoos, and zoological parks and gardens from the application of the Agricultural Operations Regulation. The text further revises key environmental definitions, aligning them with the Regulation respecting activities in wetlands, bodies of water and sensitive areas to achieve consistency.

The amendments also refine how environmental distances are measured, stating they should be taken from the boundary of the littoral zone or, if flood protection works are present, from the two-year flood recurrence level. In addition, a new rule establishes that littoral zone protections will also apply within the two-year flood recurrence level if flood protection works extend into the littoral zone. References to “very high flood hazard zones” and “short-term channel migration zones” have been incorporated into various sections to align with modern flood risk management strategies.

Several provisions have been updated to better define requirements for maintaining vegetated buffers around watercourses and ditches. The regulation clarifies that vegetation strips must be preserved in their natural or restored state, and it specifies the minimum widths and measurement starting points for these buffers. For instance, a five-metre buffer is required from the boundary of a littoral zone or from flood levels where flood protection works exist, while a three-metre buffer is required around ditches. These measures aim to protect water quality and aquatic ecosystems more effectively.

Other technical updates replace outdated references to cross-regulations with current citations, particularly those connected to the Regulation respecting activities in wetlands, bodies of water and sensitive areas. In addition, the regulation clarifies how transitional rules will apply to activities affected by new flood zone or channel migration zone boundaries, ensuring alignment with transitional measures from other Québec regulations to avoid legal uncertainty.

These updates also take into account broader factors such as cumulative ecosystem effects, human pressures on watersheds, and climate resilience, supporting a more integrated approach to land use and sustainable agricultural practices.

Quebec (750/2025) June 25, 2025
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