Saint-Valérien’s Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan

The Municipality of Saint-Valérien, with its population of 835 residents, is located some 15 km from the City of Rimouski. In 2021, the municipality intends to introduce its new 10-year sustainable neighbourhood action plan, the Plan d'action d'aménagement de quartiers durables 2022-2032. This plan aims to adopt sustainable development measures that will balance environmental, economic and social factors within a long-term vision. Among other things, this initiative will include specific objectives relating to transportation, water and energy management; solid waste and brownfields management, as well as the updating of internal policies. Regional municipality will set realistic sustainable development objectives with its local and regional partners. It will use simple, easy-to-use indicators to measure annual progress towards the achievement of each objective. For example, the target for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by municipal infrastructures will be 30%. Saint-Valérien is basing the approach used in this project on the Agenda 21 vision and methodology. The plan is also aligned with its current sustainable development plan, the Plan de développement durable 2012-2022. The project will consolidate the gains from initial results from this plan and set new, ambitious goals using the knowledge gained over recent years. Public consultations will be held in 2021 to facilitate the development of an action plan and to set priorities. Saint-Valérien wants this development to be undertaken in keeping with the reality of its own regional situation, using a citizen-centric approach. The project will be led by a qualified, multidisciplinary team. Environmental specialists and the public will be consulted and involved at every step of the process. Finally, it should be noted that the municipality has already taken current health restrictions into account and put measures in place to ensure public meetings are held in the utmost safety. Innovative aspect(s): · Significant consultation mechanism and numerous exchanges organized between citizens, consultants and the municipal team. · Continuation and improvement of an existing plan. · COVID-19 taken into account during the consultation process and for the adaptation of collaborative tools. Replicability: The involvement of several influential figures in the plan—notably the mayor, the deputy reeve of the regional county municipality (RCM), the RCM’s representative and deputy director of the regional council—not only ensures that the plan will be implemented, it opens up the possibility of replicating it in other municipalities. In addition, the Municipality of Saint-Valérien has already successfully shared its sustainable development plan, in 2012. (Project description from original funding application)