Communauté urbaine de Québec

The Communauté urbaine de Québec (also known as the Québec Urban Community) was a regional municipal body that existed in the area around Quebec City from 1970 to 2001.

Formation

Rationale for reorganization

In the late 1960s, the Government of Quebec saw increasing problems arising in the governance of the urban areas of Quebec City, Montreal and Hull because of the system of municipal organization in effect at that time:[1]

  • disparities between how municipalities were structured, in contrast with socioeconomic realities,
  • unequal levels of service between different municipalities,
  • disparities arising from the differences in local fiscal capacity,
  • difficulties in local planning, and
  • local parochialism that discouraged collective action.

The current remedies involving intermunicipal agreements, amalgamation and annexation were seen as being inadequate,[2] as they were discretionary and piecemeal in nature.[3] The Province opted to establish "urban communities" in all three areas, which would possess mandatory and optional powers appropriate to each.[4] A particular concern in the Quebec area was the large presence of government agencies whose exemption from property taxes created a significant revenue shortfall to the municipalities, together with the need to strengthen intermunicipal cooperation to deal with the situation.[5] This was confirmed in the debate on the implementing bill, where then Minister of Municipal Affairs Robert Lussier stated that the reform was "aimed at economies of scale through administrative centralization, and at reducing futile rivalries between municipalities."[6] The move was supported by all MLAs in the Quebec area, including former Premier Jean Lesage and former Créditiste member Gaston Tremblay.[6]

This was not the first consolidation effort the Province had undertaken at the local level, as local school boards had already gone through something similar in the early 1960s.[7] Officials at the local level had already begun discussions as early as 1965 on possible ways to establish joint activities, but nothing concrete had emerged by the time the Province unveiled its draft bill in June 1969.[7] Although Quebec City itself was favourable to the provincial proposal, there was significant opposition from the other municipalities in the area,[8] but such tension tended to fade away over the five years following the CUQ's creation.[9]

Creation
Boundaries of constituent municipalities of the Communauté urbaine de Québec at creation, with related sectors for membership on its executive committee

Effective January 1, 1970, the Communauté urbaine de Québec (English: Québec Urban Community)[lower-alpha 1] ("CUQ") was established,[10] which governed the area surrounding Quebec City on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. Together with the CUQ, the Commission de transport de la Communauté urbaine de Québec (English: Québec Urban Community Transit Commission) ("CTCUQ")[lower-alpha 2] and the Bureau d'assainissement des eaux du Québec Métropolitain (English: Greater Québec Water Purification Board) ("BAEQM")[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] were also established. Each of the three covered different groups of municipalities:

Evolution
Evolution of Québec area municipalities served by new agencies (1970-2001)
Historical countyMunicipalities in 1970At formation (1970)Municipalities in 2001
CUQ[11]CTCUQ[12]BAEQM[13]
Quebec CountyBeauportYYYBeauport
CourvilleYYY
GiffardYYY
MontmorencyYYY
Sainte-Thérèse-de-LisieuxYYY
VilleneuveYYY
Saint-Félix-du-Cap-RougeYYCap-Rouge
CharlesbourgYYYCharlesbourg
Charlesbourg-EstYYY
Notre-Dame-des-LaurentidesYYY
OrsainvilleYYY
Saint-Dunstan-du-Lac-BeauportYLac-Beauport
Town of L'Ancienne-LoretteYYYL'Ancienne-Lorette
Lac-Saint-CharlesYYYLac-Saint-Charles
LorettevilleYYYLoretteville
Charlesbourg-OuestYYYQuebec
DubergerYYY
NeufchâtelYYY
QuebecYYY
Saint-ÉmileYYYSaint-Émile
Parish of L'Ancienne-LoretteYYYSainte-Foy
Sainte-FoyYY
SilleryYYSillery
BélairYYVal-Bélair
Val-St-MichelYY
VanierYYYVanier
Portneuf CountySaint-Augustin-de-DesmauresYSaint-Augustin-de-Desmaures
Montmorency No 1 CountySaint-Jean-de-BoischatelYBoischatel

In the years following the establishing of the CUQ, various changes occurred among the constituent municipalities:

  • on July 1, 1970, Duberger amalgamated with Quebec[14]
  • on December 9, 1970, the Parish of L'Ancienne-Lorette was amalgamated with Sainte-Foy[15]
  • on January 1, 1971, Neufchâtel amalgamated with Quebec,[16]
  • on May 1, 1973, Quebec annexed Charlesbourg-Ouest[17]
  • On January 1, 1974, Bélair and Val-St-Michel amalgamated to form Val-Bélair[18]
  • on January 1, 1976, Charlesbourg-Est, Notre-Dame-des-Laurentides and Orsainville amalgamated with Charlesbourg, and Courville, Giffard, Montmorency, Sainte-Thérèse-de-Lisieux and Villeneuve, together with the Parish of Saint-Michel-Archange,[lower-alpha 5]amalgamated with Beauport[21]
  • on April 27, 1983, Saint-Félix-du-Cap-Rouge changed its name to Cap-Rouge[22]

When the CUQ was created, the remaining territory of Quebec County was not affected, which included unorganized territory and the municipalities of Lac-Delage, Lac-Édouard, Saint-Dunstan-du-Lac-Beauport, Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier and Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury. In 1981, they were divided between the new regional county municipalities of Le Haut-Saint-Maurice and La Jacques-Cartier.

Governance

Council

The CUQ was governed by its Council, which consisted of the mayor of each constituent municipality.[23] It had a chairman and a vice-chairman, and, where a representative from Quebec City held one of the positions, the other had to be from one of the other municipalities.[24]

Executive committee

It also had an executive committee, which had similar functions to a board of control found in Ontario.[25] Its members were independently appointed for four-year terms[lower-alpha 6] by the constituent municipalities by sector:

CUQ Executive Committee membership by sector
SectorMembersMunicipalities[11]
1 3
2 1
3 1
4 1
5 1
  • Beauport
  • Courville
  • Giffard
  • Montmorency
  • Sainte-Thérèse-de-Lisieux
  • Villeneuve

Effective January 1, 1994, the executive committee was abolished,[28] and the chairman, 1st vice-chairman and 2nd vice-chairman of the Council were declared to be the Mayor of Quebec, a representative from Beauport, Charlesbourg or Sainte-Foy, and a representative from the remaining municipalities (in any order).[29]

2002 municipal reorganization
See also: 2000–06 municipal reorganization in Quebec

Effective January 1, 2002, the CUQ, together with its constituent municipalities, were amalgamated to form the Ville de Québec,[30] which subsequently became part of the new Communauté métropolitaine de Québec.[31]

Boundaries of constituent municipalities of the Communauté urbaine de Québec in 2001, together with overlays of the later Urban agglomeration of Quebec City and Quebec city borough boundaries in 2012

Further reading
  • Cestre, Gilbert (1976). "Québec : évolution des limites municipales depuis 1831-1832". Cahiers de géographie du Québec (in French). 20 (51): 561–567. ISSN 0007-9766.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Quesnel-Ouellet, Louise (1980). "6: Structural Changes at the Municipal Level in Quebec: Analysis of a Policy-Making Process". In Dickerson, M.O.; Drabek, S.; Woods, J. (eds.). Problems of change in urban government. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 125–146. ISBN 0-88920-089-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Godbout, Jacques (1971). "La formation de la communauté urbaine de Québec et le rôle de l'État dans la restructuration des pouvoirs locaux". Recherches sociographiques (in French). 12 (2): 185–225. ISSN 0034-1282.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Houde, Jean; Kenniff, Patrick (1970). "Les communautés urbaines". Les Cahiers de droit (in French). 11 (2): 333–354. ISSN 0007-974X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Ministère des affaires municipales (1971). "La communauté urbaine : Une formule d'organisation et de gestion des agglomérations". In Bureau de la statistique du Québec (ed.). Annuaire du Québec 1971 (in French) (51st ed.). Éditeur officiel du Québec. pp. 1–40.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Notes
  1. the English language name was abolished in 1977, upon the passage of the Charter of the French Language
  2. now part of the Réseau de transport de la Capitale
  3. previously constituted under the Greater Québec Water Purification Board Act, S.Q. 1968, c. 56
  4. subsequently amalgamated with the CUQ in June 1971: An Act to amend the Québec Urban Community Act, S.Q. 1971, c. 88, s. 79
  5. a parish municipality erected in 1896, whose sole inhabitants were the Sœurs de la Charité de Québec, who occupied and managed the Hôpital Saint-Michel-Archange, a mental hospital that was later renamed as the Centre hospitalier Robert-Giffard[19] in 1996[20]
  6. subject to retaining their elective office: S.Q. 1969, c. 83, s. 71
  7. Les Saules, originally intended to be part of sector 4,[26] was amalgamated with the City of Quebec on January 1, 1970:[27] An Act respecting the amalgamation of the City of Québec and the Town of Les Saules, S.Q. 1969, c. 90
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References
  1. Ministère des affaires municipales 1971, pp. 10–12.
  2. Ministère des affaires municipales 1971, pp. 12–14.
  3. Ministère des affaires municipales 1971, pp. 14–15.
  4. Ministère des affaires municipales 1971, pp. 16–19.
  5. Quesnel-Ouellet 1980, p. 125.
  6. Quesnel-Ouellet 1980, p. 127.
  7. Quesnel-Ouellet 1980, p. 129.
  8. Quesnel-Ouellet 1980, p. 130.
  9. Quesnel-Ouellet 1980, pp. 131-132.
  10. Québec Urban Community Act, S.Q. 1969, c. 83
  11. S.Q. 1969, c. 83, Sch. A
  12. S.Q. 1969, c. 83, Sch. B
  13. S.Q. 1969, c. 83, Sch. D
  14. An Act respecting the City of Québec and the Town of Duberger, S.Q. 1970, c. 69
  15. "Letters Patent". Gazette officielle du Québec. 102 (52): 7556–7560. December 26, 1970.
  16. An Act to amend the Charter of the City of Québec and respecting the amalgamation of the City of Québec and of the Town of Neufchâtel, S.Q. 1970, c. 68
  17. "City of Québec". Gazette officielle du Québec. 105 (16): 2443–2444. April 21, 1973.
  18. "Letters Patent". Gazette officielle du Québec. 105 (52): 7675–7678. December 29, 1973.
  19. 46°50′50″N 71°13′11″W
  20. "L'Hôpital Saint-Michel-Archange: principale oeuvre des Soeurs de la Charité de Québec". ipir.ulaval.ca (in French). Le patrimoine immatériel religieux du Québec, Université Laval.
  21. An Act to regroup certain municipalities in the region of Québec, S.Q. 1975, c. 91
  22. "Ville de Cap-Rouge". Gazette officielle du Québec. 115 (21): 2477. May 28, 1983.
  23. S.Q. 1969, c. 83, s. 39
  24. S.Q. 1969, c. 83, s. 47
  25. S.Q. 1969, c. 83, ss. 23-33
  26. Ministère des affaires municipales 1971, p. 27.
  27. Cestre 1976, pp. 563, 565–566.
  28. L.Q. 1993, c. 67, s. 4
  29. L.Q. 1993, c. 67, s. 5
  30. An Act to reform the municipal territorial organization of the metropolitan regions of Montréal, Québec and the Outaouais, L.Q. 2000, c. 56, Sch. II , s. 5
  31. L.Q. 2000, c. 56, Sch. VI and VI-A
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