What is the BAPE?

The Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) is an agency dedicated to public information and consultation on projects likely to have a major impact on the environment or any other question related to the quality of the environment. The BAPE is the gateway for citizens to get involved in the project authorization process. It visits the community concerned by the project to facilitate the participation of citizens. They can obtain information from, and express their concerns to, a neutral agency and through a transparent process. The BAPE carries out the mandates entrusted to it by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks such as the public information and consultation as well as public hearing mandates. Following each of its mandates, the BAPE conveys to the Minister the concerns of citizens as expressed during the public consultation. In the case of a public hearing, the BAPE also informs the Minister of its findings and its analysis in regard to the project concerned. The BAPE may also receive other types of mandates involving either a public inquiry mandate or a mediation process.

To learn more about the BAPE, you can consult the Rapport annuel de gestion 2010-2011 (available in French only).

What types of projects does the BAPE examine?

The BAPE is entrusted with the mandate of examining projects subject to the environmental impact assessment and review procedure pursuant to the Environment Quality Act . The nature and the characteristics of the projects subject to this procedure are stipulated in a regulation. These projects include, among others, some highway projects, projects affecting waste elimination sites, dams, power generation, as well as some industrial projects.

You will find the list of projects subject to the procedure in the Regulation respecting environmental impact assessment and review.

What is an information period?

The public information and consultation period is a 45-day period during which the BAPE puts at the disposal of the public the available documentation concerning a project. The BAPE notifies the public that it has been mandated to inform and consult the public on a project that is likely to be carried out in the community. The BAPE opens consultation centres in the region in question and makes all of the information available at the documentation centres in Québec City and Montréal as well as on its website. Depending on the case, the BAPE holds an information session with the participation of the proponent and of the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs in order to provide information about the project, the environmental assessment procedure, the role of the BAPE as well as that of citizens. At the end of the information period, a report listing the concerns expressed by the public during the information session, through telephone conversations or via correspondence and e-mail addressed to the BAPE is sent to the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks and made public afterwards on the BAPE website and at the consultation centres.

Who may request a public hearing and why?

Citizens, groups or municipalities that wish to have additional information on the project or that disagree with the project in general or some of its elements can ask the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks to hold a public hearing. This request must be submitted in writing to the Minister before the end of the public information and consultation period.

What is a public hearing?

A public hearing is a process which provides an opportunity for citizens, municipalities and groups to ask their questions to the proponent and to the resource persons invited by the commission of inquiryin order to obtain additional information. It also allows participants to express their views, to give their opinion and to voice their concerns. When the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks entrusts the BAPE with a mandate, the president sets up a commission in charge of making inquiry and holding a public hearing. This commission has a maximum of four  months to carry out its mandate. It invites resource persons and experts from various departments and agencies who will answer the public’s and the commission’s questions. The public hearing has two parts. The first part allows the commission and citizens, in the presence of the resource persons and the proponent, to obtain information on the project and to ask questions in order to familiarize themselves with and grasp all aspects of the project. During the second part, the commission hears the opinions and suggestions of citizens, groups or municipalities in the form of an oral presentation or a brief. At the end of the public hearing the BAPE submits its report which contains its findings as well as the analysis thereof to the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks. The Minister should make the report public within 60 days after having received it.

Other than public hearings on projects that are subject to the environmental impact assessment and review procedure and where the BAPE consults the public on such projects specifically, the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks can also ask the BAPE to hold public consultations on questions of general interest related to a specific environmental issue. Through the intervention of the BAPE, the government is thus able to find out the public’s point of view on specific environmental issues such as water management in Québec, hog farming, waste management.

To learn more, you can consult the Progress of projects at the BAPE.

What is mediation?

When a negotiation between the persons or the groups who requested a public hearing and the proponent of the project appears possible, the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks may entrust the BAPE with an inquiry and mediation mandate. The goal of mediation is to help the parties involved to arrive at a consensus. It seeks to resolve the various differences related to the project’s repercussions and to reach agreement on the points in dispute between the parties in question, while respecting the environment and the quality of life of the community. In principle, mediation unfolds between the person(s) having requested the public hearing and the proponent of a project. In the case where there is no agreement, the applicants retain their right to obtain the holding of a public hearing. At the end of its mandate, which generally lasts two months, the BAPE submits to the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks a report containing the findings and analysis of the mediator. The Minister has 60 days to make the report public.

What is an inquiry?

In order to obtain additional input on a specific environmental question or an exceptional situation, the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks can mandate the BAPE to hold an inquiry without a public hearing. The commission in charge of the inquiry is made up of one or more members of the Bureau and must submit its report to the Minister by the deadline that he sets. This type of mandate does not occur very often.

Why does the BAPE intervene in protected area projects?

The Natural Heritage Conservation Act, the objective of which is to safeguard the character, diversity and integrity of Québec’s natural heritage, aims in particular to facilitate the setting up of protected areas that are representative of the biodiversity of the entire territory. This law, which makes provisions for public consultations, opens a new field for the BAPE, whose actions generally fall under the Environment Quality Act.

To properly carry out the mandates pertaining to public consultations on protected area projects entrusted to it by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, the BAPE has adopted Rules of procedure governing public consultations on protected area projects. These rules are used by the commissions of inquiry in charge of holding public consultations on protected area projects.

What is meant by a protected area?

Protected areas are “areas of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means”.

The Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs publishes a host of information on protected areas which can be consulted on its website.

How does one receive information on protected area mandates?

Other protected area projects will be subject to a public consultation. The Natural Heritage Conservation Act stipulates that the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks may entrust the mandate of holding a public consultation either to the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement or to one or more persons that he designates as commissioners for this purpose.

We will keep you informed when the BAPE receives other mandates falling within the context of this initiative to set up a network of protected areas in Québec.

If you wish to be informed of all the protected area projects for which the BAPE will hold a public consultation, you can sign up to be on our mailing list by sending us your contact information, including your e-mail address, at the following address:

aires-protegees@bape.gouv.qc.ca

Who decides on the future of a project?

In light of the environmental analysis of the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs and the BAPE report, the Minister makes his recommendations to the Cabinet, which then makes the final decision.

What is sustainable development?

The definition generally given to sustainable development is that of development that endeavours to meet the needs of the present (economic, social, environmental) without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

By its very nature, the BAPE is a true sustainable development tool. This agency enables citizens to take part in the decision-making process. It highlights the concerns and aspirations of citizens and groups that have an interest in the project or the community affected. The mission and actions of the BAPE fall within a sustainable development approach because they promote the incorporation of environmental, economic and social aspects in decision-making and they ensure that everyone has access to information, a prerequisite for sustainable development.

Moreover, the commissions of inquiryset up to hold public hearings and to make inquiry on specific projects evaluate the projects in light of the principles underlying sustainable development. These commissions adopt and use in the performance of their duties a broad notion of the environment which is not limited to the biophysical framework, but which also includes the social, economic and cultural aspects of the environment, the foundations of true sustainable development.

To learn more about sustainable development, consult the website of the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs under the Sustainable development heading.

If a project is not subject to the environmental impact assessment and review procedure, can the proponent carry out the project as he sees fit?

No. Just because the BAPE does not examine a project or the project is not subject to the procedure does not mean that it is automatically authorized by the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs. In addition to the aforementioned procedure, the Environment Quality Act governs the authorization and carrying out of all projects and activities likely to have an impact on the quality of the environment, notably with a view to preserving the quality of the environment and to preventing its deterioration.

To learn more about the projects and activities requiring such authorizations or about the applicable laws and regulations, we invite you to consult the website of the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs under the appropriate headings. You will also find all of the laws and regulations applied by the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs on its website.

All of the laws: http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/publications/lois-reglem-en.htm