Strategic Sustainability Plan, Stoke, QC

Stoke, a small rural municipality in Quebec 20 km from Sherbrooke, has more young people than seniors. Young families who want to live in the country but near the city are moving to Stoke. The development of a commercial hub in Sherbrooke, not far from Stoke, is making it more difficult to develop services in the central village. In 2015, the municipal council began a strategic review. The results showed interest in building sustainability in the municipality. The main issues discussed during the process were public transit, greenhouse gas (GHG), water management, waste, public participation, responding better to the needs of new young families, becoming a leader in sustainability, and boosting economic development in the municipality. It was decided that strategic planning would help to incorporate these issues into the municipality’s management and development. Their approach will include an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats based on the 22 sustainability issues. Key stakeholders will be contacted for each issue. In addition to a Web platform for consultations, the municipality will organize public participation events to gather the public’s concerns and opinions on the orientations and actions. The elected officials and employees will be involved in the process thanks to awareness and other training. This project is related to the following plans and policies: the 2012-2014 family policy, the senior-friendly municipality program, the 2016-2020 Val-Saint-François RCM waste management plan, the greenhouse gas (GHG) budget, an action plan to reduce GHG emissions, and the 2012 urban plan. This initiative will generate a policy, an action plan, and a sustainability strategy that will contain short, medium and long-term objectives and performance indicators. A monitoring and steering committee of the three elected officials and one employee will support this plan’s accountability to the council and the public. This process is innovative in the area as no other municipality in the Val-Saint-François RCM has undertaken such a process. This initiative could also inspire other municipalities in the RCM to follow suit. (Project description from original funding application)