CANADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Isabella Tamilia and Alexander Rigante, De Grandpré Chait
on the Quebec government to amend the ARMT in this respect. Bill 22 and Bill 39 – land use, zoning and expropriation In November 2023, An Act respecting expropria - tion (“Bill 22”) was passed by the Quebec legis - lative assembly. Bill 22 is particularly notewor - thy as it introduces a new framework regarding expropriations with the objective of streamlin - ing critical infrastructure projects and amending compensation rules to the detriment of expropri - ated parties. In addition, the real estate industry saw the Act to amend the Act respecting municipal taxa - tion and other legislative provisions (“Bill 39”) passed in December 2023. Bill 39, among other things, provides municipalities with the power to impose a property value-based tax on build - ings containing vacant or under-used residen - tial units – another attempt to increase housing supply amid record low-vacancy rates. Bill 39 also amends the Act respecting land use plan - ning and development, whose amendments prevent expropriated parties from obtaining due compensation in certain contexts of disguised expropriations. These two pieces of legislation are expected to significantly shape the real estate landscape in the coming years, readers are invited to refer to De Grandpré Chait’s municipal group’s Septem - ber 2023 Chambers contribution to learn more: REAL ESTATE: An Introduction to Quebec Law | Chambers and Partners . Bill 34 – back to in-person closings In April 2020, as a means of ensuring the sound administration of justice in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Quebec Minister of Justice author - ised notaries licensed to practice in Quebec to
take signature of notarial acts (such as deeds of sale, deeds of hypothec, wills and declarations of co-ownership) remotely on recognised plat - forms such as Microsoft Teams, using approved technological means to obtain digital signatures (eg, Consigno Cloud). The decree was renewed in August 2021, 2022 and 2023, which many industry players viewed as effectively modern - ising notarial practice by facilitating the remote closing of real estate transactions in Quebec. However, on 24 October 2023, the Quebec gov - ernment passed an Act to modernise notarial practice and promote access to justice (“Bill 34”) by making digital signatures (ie, via phone, tablet or computer) and the physical presence of the parties mandatory, save for exceptional cases. The change was adopted to ensure the protection of the public during a period when the market saw an increase in title and mort - gage fraud. Some members of the legal com - munity responded negatively to Bill 34, consid - ering the measures to be regressive compared to the existing efficient and modernised way of transacting in Quebec. However, several influ - ential notarial groups, such as the Association professionnelle des notaires du Québec and the Chambre des notaires have actively supported and welcomed the adoption of Bill 34. ESG Emergence in Quebec Real Estate Throughout 2023, environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations remained central to decision-making by various Quebec real estate industry stakeholders and continued to affect key aspects of real estate projects, including leasing, development, financing and legislation. It is interesting to note that while ESG standards in Europe are derived from regulation, ESG considerations in Quebec appear to stem from investors and major commercial develop - ers. Current Quebec ESG leaders tend to be companies with assets held globally, including
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