Association Memphré-Rural
FAQ Table of contents
What is the role of the Association Memphré-Rural (AMR)?
The Association Memphré-Rural (AMR) brings together landowners from District-6 of Magog. She acts as a whistleblower and change agent. It aims to restore rural status to District-6 of Magog, and to do this, to request annexation by a neighboring municipality which is also rural
It should be noted that rurality is a concept in full rehabilitation, and for good reason: it has lost way too much ground recently. Our territories are precious land and must be protected and strategically developed to meet the essential needs of neighboring populations, in a sustainable, equitable and local manner. A Climate Crisis requirement. (see our biodiversity page)
Drastic changes to the Magog taxation regime are underway. They literally set fire to the powder. If the status quo is maintained, the new property assessment roll 2025/2027 (based on market property values as of July 1, 2023), will generate new increases in municipal taxes, unsustainable for many owners, on average order of 80%, as of January 1, 2025.
Abusive taxation has had the effect of the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back, but other concerns are handicapping our future as well under some urban management, notably regarding the preservation of biodiversity, and the irrelevance - objectives and spending - of a municipal governance not adapted to the rural environment.
Can a municipal district - such as District-6 of Magog - be annexed by another municipality?
Certainly, in whole or in part, if the District-6 and the host municipality are contiguous (e.g.: municipality of Canton de Stanstead). And according to two indispensable conditions (see annexation guide below). The Law on municipal territorial organization provides for this eventuality and the Ministry of municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy (MAMOT) has published a Guide on annexations (May 2018 - in French), for those involved in this type of procedure.
"The municipal territorial boundaries are not static and can be modified to meet the needs of populations and their municipalities, as well as geographic realities, socio-economic and economics in constant evolution."
See context (in French): un vent de fusions souffle sur le Québec (La Presse, October, 24, 2023)
Why the municipality of Canton de Stanstead (CdS) rather than Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley?
On the one hand, District-6 and the host municipality must be contiguous by law. On the other hand, the District-6 of Magog and CdS are both rural territories. Their geographic, structural, economic and population characteristics are very similar. Their regrouping would make it possible to unify their resources to respond more effectively to climatic and environmental challenges, and protect Lake Lovering and northeast Lake Memphremagog, which are part of their territory.
Together, District-6 and CdS would have the tools, means and know-how that will ensure their sustainability and harmonious adaptation to climate change.
They will also be able to respond more effectively to the growing demands of governments. In a few words: do more and better.
Have other municipalities successfully completed such an annexation process?
Yes, it is a common process to respond to the evolving needs of populations and allow them to regroup between municipalities with similar characteristics, priorities or objectives, or alternatively, to separate from a municipality with divergent or restrictive characteristics.
On this subject, the Association had the opportunity to discuss with the municipality of Lac-Édouard, which detached from the town of La-Tuque, in Mauricie.
How does an annexation process begin?
Two conditions are absolutely indispensable:
A majority vote of landowners in District-6 (migrant) requests annexation by CdS (welcoming). 1,632 landowners are registered in District-6.
The council of the municipality of CdS votes to adopt a by-law to annex all or part of the District-6 which is contiguous to them, and notifies the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Territorial Occupancy of Quebec (MAMOT).
How long could such a process take?
This is a lengthy and procedural administrative process , which can take up to 18 months.
However, this process will be more expeditious if a clear majority of landowners in District-6 demonstrate their determination to the authorities by signing a petition in favor of annexation.
Can we wait until January 1st 2025 to find out if Magog will adapt its municipal taxes taking into account the rural character of District-6?
Everything indicates that no. Following the drastic increases in municipal taxes in District-6 on January 2022, representatives of the future AMR obtained a working meeting with the mayor of Magog. Five months later, Madame Pelletier convened an assembly of citizens of Magog, at which around sixty landowners from District-6 were present. Assisted by the city's external legal advisor, Maître Paul Wayland (DHC, Montreal), she categorically rejected any collaboration with District-6, while declaring that the city had respected the principles of equity and justice of the law, and that the file was closed, without any further discussion possible.
Still, this law is now recognized as outdated by many analysts, particularly for the following irritants: there can only be one municipal tax rate for the "residential" category, that is to say for any property with 5 housing units or less, it doesn't matter if it is a condo or a bungalow or a chalet, whether it's in an urban district or a rural district, with or without services, This same law unfairly penalizes property owners of long duration, senior citizens living on fixed incomes and property owners who improve the values of their land.
Applied indiscriminately - as is the case in Magog, a heterogeneous municipality which serves both urban and rural areas - this law is tinged with inequity, threatens the survival of the territory's social status quo, and generates profound disruption of the relationship between the city and its citizens.
And yet still, in their article from the newspaper La Presse of November 4, 2023, journalists Ariane Krol and Pierre-André Normandin analyzed data from the Institut de la Statistique du Québec, relating to the standardized values of property taxes for municipalities in Quebec. Not unsurprisingly, they found that there were always occasions where the interpretation of the laws bordered on the absurd and unethical. Jacques Demers, mayor of Ste-Catherine de Hatley, prefect of the MRC of Memphrémagog, and president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalities (FQM) stated that when significant differences occur between, say, lakefronts and other residences, there are all kinds of solutions and municipalities can adopt different recipes.
We would have preferred such open-mindedness for Magog, but clearly the city does not want to deprive itself of a significant tax contribution from its most rural district, to be used mainly for the benefit of urban districts.
Would Bill Project No. 39, passed on December 8, 2023, amending the Municipal Taxation Act, be a short term solution?
This is a recent and still little-known Project Bill, mentioned by one of the respondents to our survey of District-6 owners.
Let us say straight away that this Project Bill may take a long time to be signed, and offers no solution to the grievances of District-6 owners.
Bill No. 39 is part of a new partnership between the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy (MAMOT) and local governments (municipalities).
The measures put in place grant municipalities certain prerogatives well defined in the Municipal Taxation Act, in order to give them more autonomy and flexibility in the application of the law. These measures allow each municipality to adapt, in specific cases, the municipal tax system to its own particularities.
A clause in this bill therefore allows them to establish subcategories of residential property taxes in the residual category (the one that concerns us), and to divide the territory into sectors for the purposes of imposing the land tax. In other words, different taxation could apply to each sector of the municipality.
In theory, this measure would seem to meet our needs, which, let us remember, are those of a rural district without local municipal services, annexed to a central city benefiting from all services. However, the application of such a measure would not solve anything for District-6, for the following reasons:
Bill no. 39 sets guidelines: the different rates in the municipality cannot be 33% higher or lower than the standardized rate corresponding to the average tax rate of the municipality. In other words for Magog, if the uniform rate is 0.73, the sectoral rates could oscillate between 0.49 and 0.97. In the best case scenario, a rate of 0.49 is still much higher than the rate of 0.28 applied by neighboring rural municipalities.
In reality, this tax measure granted to municipalities aims rather at other objectives: encouraging the densification or construction of housing in certain sectors by lowering municipal taxes, increasing property taxes for certain types of housing or properties, taxing vacant or underutilized housing etc. In terms of taxation and municipal taxation, these modifications will allow cities to adjust their taxation in order to meet their ever-increasing financial needs.
In addition, the resolution of a municipality establishing a sector, or modifying the boundaries, must be adopted before August 15 preceding the first of the fiscal years (the 1st year) for which the assessment role is drawn up. If Magog decided to apply a different tax rate to District-6, it would have to submit its resolution before August 15, 2024 for the three years of the new assessment role 2025-2027.
It is doubtful that Magog will table such a resolution, having always closed the door to any request for discussion with District-6. The risk being rather that instead of harmonizing the tax rate of District-6 with that of a rural district, it increases it on the contrary, to tax more the properties whose average value is higher than that of the city -center.
Since the law allows annexation changes, can we hope for a favorable response from the MAMOT to a request for annexation of District-6 by the municipality of Canton de Stanstead?
Yes. The Government realizes that the more or less forced mergers between urban districts and rural districts have not given the expected results, to the clear detriment of the rural districts left behind.
The former Minister of Municipal Affairs, Mr. Rémy Trudel, recommends the regrouping of small municipalities in Quebec to ensure their survival and the sustainability of material, cultural, real estate, and geographic heritage.
On April 27, 2022, the Council of Ministers adopted Decree No. 708-2022 having the effect of continuing the Government Strategy to ensure the occupation and vitality of the territories (see ''Les Priorités de l'Estrie'', pages 43 to 47).
The Law on Municipal Territorial Organization (LOTM, Chapter V – Annexation) and the Guide on annexations, prepared by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy (MAMOT), are very explicit. The ministry offers assistance and subventions with the PAFREM program (Financial assistance program for municipal consolidation).
For a landowner in District-6, what would be the impact - monetary and services-related - of the annexation by the municipality of Canton de Stanstead?
Drop of more than half in the tax bill (rate going from 0.73 with Magog to 0.2778 with CdS). See our page: my taxes
Fire service: access unchanged. The territory of the MRC Memphrémagog is served by six fire departments and a nautical patrol. The fire service is provided by the nearest fire station (Magog or Fitch Bay). The city of Magog closed the Lake Lovering fire station for economic reasons, increasing the risk and fire insurance premiums for the citizens of District-6. The new fire station on Remick road in Fitch Bay allows faster service for the large majority of residents of District-6, and in particular those in the Lake Lovering area. Via Magog, the railway crossing on Merry street south, as well as the detour via Belvedere street, are hazards leading to longer response times.
Police: access unchanged (MRC Memphrémagog police).
Schools: access unchanged (depends on the MRC).
Sports: unchanged and free access to the city's sports areas; when paying, supplement imposed on non-residents
Adapted transport: access unchanged (depends on the MRC)
Magog Library: access cost of $115/year per housing unit of 5 people.
Collection of green, blue and brown bins.
$40/year card for access to the Magog Écocentre, with the same conditions as for Magog residents.
Could annexation to Canton de Stanstead cause properties in District-6 to lose value?
This is not the case, quite the contrary. We did an analysis and the numbers speak for themselves. There is a fundamental criterion in real estate: the property value depends on the location. If District-6 is annexed to CdS, properties will not move across the current boundary line. They will stay put, but will attract even more eventual buyers, with a tax rate close to a third of that of Magog.
It is important to remember that all land properties in the MRC Memphremagog (Magog, Stanstead Township, Ogden, Austin, Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, etc.) are evaluated by the same firm: J.P. Cadrin & Associates, Chartered Appraisers. As a result, there is consistency in the method of valuing land holdings.
Property assessments are based on the values of real estate transactions in the area of the property as of the date the assessment roll is issued.
For a landowner in Canton de Stanstead, what would be the impact of the annexation of District-6 of Magog?
The District-6 of Magog and CdS have a common and priority interest: protecting their rurality. Their geographic and environmental, civic, social and economic characteristics are already aligned and must be strongly protected. Their needs are clearly not those of a city in full development.
Strengthening their number, their representativeness, and their land enrichment would only increase the chances of success of their projects. As Jacques Demers, prefect of the MRC of Memphrémagog, says: “increased land wealth represents a “collective force” for a municipality” (La Presse; 2023-11-06). New economies of scale would allow them to achieve, more quickly and at a reasonable cost, the sustainability and quality of life objectives that they have set for themselves. Together, they will be able at last to administer the strategic governance of Lake Lovering as a whole, and diligently coordinate their efforts for the essential preservation of a large chunk of the coastline of Lake Memphremagog.
Together, they will also be able to respond more effectively to the growing demands of governments.
What proof is there that Canton de Stanstead will not increase its municipal taxes to operate at the same level as Magog?
There is obviously no guarantee, just like whether Magog will increase its own tax rate or not.
However, an increase in the rate, following the annexation of District-6, would be to the disadvantage of property owners in CdS. If the latter agrees to annex District-6, it is because it sees an advantage in maintaining, or even reducing, its own rate, thanks to a significant new influx of revenue in property taxes.
With its 1,650 property owners, the land value on the 2022-2024 roll is $1.1 billion and will increase to at least $1.7 billion on the next 2025-2027 roll. In comparison, that of the CdS with 1,600 property owners, has just increased from $0.7 billion to $1.16 billion on the 2024-2026 roll.
The annexation of District-6 by CdS would increase current tax revenues from $4.3 million to approximately $10 million; which constitutes
some solid financial flexibility.
It should also be noted that J.P. Cadrin & Ass. is the property assessment firm for Magog and CdS. And that there is necessarily some uniformity in the property assessment method.
Over the years, CdS has been very conservative in its municipal management, administering it as a prudent custodian, which has not been the case for the municipality of Magog, with a tax rate of 0.73.
In short, the only certainty is that annexed to (rural) CdS, District-6 will be taxed as a rural municipality, and no longer as an urban district in the heart of Magog.
Can we envisage that Magog opposes an annexation of District-6 by Canton de Stanstead ?
This is where the importance of gathering a strong majority of votes from District- 6 landowners in favor of annexation comes into play. The stronger our majority (at least 850 votes) the more we increase our chances of easily obtaining annexation to CdS. A vote in favor of a thousand residents of District-6 would be overwhelming. Because by law, no one can oppose the popular vote.
For this purpose the Law on Municipal Territorial Organization, Art. 134, states unequivocally:
134. When the council of the municipality whose territory is covered by the annexation disapproves of the by-law or does not comment on it, the by-law must be submitted for approval to the qualified voters of the territory covered by the annexation. The Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities (chapter E‐2.2) applies for the purposes of this approval as if the by-law had been adopted by the council of the municipality whose territory is covered by the annexation.
In other words, Magog would be obliged to respect the popular vote of District-6 landowners.
Even if Magog defends itself in court against an annexation request?
If the popular vote is overwhelming and unambiguous, her chances are almost zero. In fact, it would only be a final distraction maneuver, and a misuse of public funds.
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