Legault government wants to buy highly contested Sisters of Charity's farmland in Quebec City
Quebec government plans to keep the land for agricultural and research purposes
The fate of one the largest remaining green spaces in Quebec City, a 200-hectare parcel of farmland that belongs to the Sisters of Charity, may soon be decided.
The Legault government made an unsolicited offer to buy their land on Thursday, the order of nuns told Radio-Canada in an email. The province is interested in transforming it into an agricultural hub used for farming, research and education, scrapping contested plans to develop it for housing.
Quebec's agriculture minister's office said it couldn't comment on the offer, but said that the government was working on the file and hoped to announce "good news" soon.
Radio-Canada sources report that the offer aligns with the municipal evaluation of the land at about $30 million. The religious order said it was evaluating the proposal, but would not comment further. The nuns have 21 days to accept it.
If they do, the sale will put an end to attempts by the city to use the land to build condos, something many citizens fought against for years.
Developers have eyed the property in the past and the city of Quebec tried to rezone the land on two occasions, hoping to see 6,500 new homes built on it. But the province, which controls agricultural zoning, refused each time.
'A step in the right direction'
"I think it's a victory for citizens," said Denis Bédard, the co-owner of a nearby farm who was against developing the land. "It's a green space that will stay green, a beautiful visual space that will stay there for all of the citizens."
Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume was unable to comment before publication. A spokesperson for Marie-Josée Savard, the candidate for mayor that he endorsed, said the city had had preliminary discussions with the government to be a partner in the project.
Sol Zanetti, the Québec Solidaire MNA for Jean-Lesage, the riding where the farmland is located, called the province's decision "a step in the right direction," but said it was important for residents to be involved going forward — perhaps through a trust run by locals.
"A lot of people in the area have been thinking about the future of this land and they have been dreaming and making a lot of really nice projects," he said. "It's really important that they have a say in what happens to this land."
He said the land could be used to grow food for people dealing with food insecurity, an issue that he said affects many of his constituents.
With files from Radio-Canada and Joshua Grant