A step forward for the regions

Public land and natural resources are key levers for economic development in Québec and its regions, but land and resource management issues represent a growing challenge.

The gouvernement du Québec has chosen to give the regions more power and autonomy in order to increase their dynamism and power of attraction, and will therefore involve them more closely in the development of the land and natural resources that underlie their economic and social development.

The integrated and regionalized management involves :

• the merging of the various MRNF regional offices into a general regional office in each region;
• the creation of a regional land and natural resource commission, under the responsibility of the regional conference of elected officers (conférence régionale des élus or CRE) which has to draft a regional plan for integrated land and natural resource development in each region;
• the delegation of land management, sand and gravel to the regional stakeholders.

The implementation of the integrated, regionalized management provides the region a comprehensive framework for the use of natural resources to create wealth, based on the wishes of the regional stakeholders. Within the boundaries set by government, the regions play a more substantial role in land and natural resource management, and enjoy a large measure of autonomy in the choices and priorities it defines.

• Regional organization
• Regional land and natural resource commissions
• Regional development plans