The approach

Lac-Mégantic is working with a range of partners to achieve its energy transition plan objectives, including the Commission on Innovation and the Ecological Transition, a citizens’ committee that advises elected officials and supports mobilization, education and awareness initiatives.

Consulting with municipal departments and Commission members, Lac-Mégantic aims to:

• foster an inclusive and equitable citizens’ movement
• bring the people of Lac-Mégantic closer together
• get young people involved, from elementary school up

“Anytime we can get people involved, we will.”

- Julie Morin, Mayor of Lac-Mégantic

The impacts

In 2022, Lac-Mégantic made an inventory of GHG emissions in its jurisdiction. The inventory will be used to benchmark energy transition plan results in future years.

Here are some of the results to date:

• great response to the 1st Energy Transition Week (40% of the population)
• events, challenges and talks to raise public, business and partner awareness  
• new Innovation Hub on smart, renewable-energy microgrids established with the University of Sherbrooke
• new help desk for energy-efficient buildings established, a free support service to help people with renovation and construction projects
• in collaboration with Hydro-Québec:
  • production of educational materials to improve young people’s energy literacy
  • research on public participation in the energy transition
  • use of energy transition technology (heat pumps, solar panels, thermic accumulators, etc.) in social housing currently being built
• provision of grants to support individual initiatives

What we’ve accomplished

The team has come up with some remarkable initiatives in recent months. It established the Mission Mégawatt brand to coordinate its work and get people’s attention. There’s a website to engage the public, update people on plan progress and run regular challenges.

Inclusion is key. That’s why youth, seniors, newcomers, people with disabilities and families have been brought into the project through Transition Commission activities.

There’s also new housing for vulnerable low-income populations, such as the 21 apartments in the Le Chevalier Building. Le Chevalier is a real technology showcase with its hybrid solar panels, local thermic accumulators and heat pumps.

Next steps

Lac-Mégantic aspires to be a leader and model for the energy transition in rural Québec and all of Canada. The plan incorporates 20 actions by 2027, in six areas: transportation, buildings, urban agriculture, industry, waste materials and awareness. It will be reviewed every three years.

“Mission Mégawatt is much more than an energy transition project—it’s a community working together to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and inspire other communities to do the same.”

- Julie Morin, Mayor of Lac-Mégantic 

Pressures on the land and people

Georgian Bay’s natural beauty is under pressure from growing development and the spread of invasive species such as Phragmites, threatening vital natural spaces and the biodiversity and human relationship with nature that they support. Some areas were not receiving sufficient care partly due to unclear ownership, putting the land at further risk.

Meanwhile, many community members face barriers to accessing nature, and an unresolved land claim underscored the need for justice and Reconciliation. Historically, colonial processes unjustly displaced Indigenous Peoples from their territories, disconnecting communities from their cultural and ecological identities as land stewards. “These little 66-foot strips that alienate us from the shoreline and create these illusions where we’re not a contiguous piece of land play an important part in our psyche,” said Colette Isaac, Lands Director, Moose Deer Point First Nation. “There is an underlying impact of this awareness that our lives are constrained by external factors that have nothing to do with us.”

Together, these challenges call for thoughtful, inclusive stewardship of these lands. 

The approach

The Township realized that transferring lands would involve significant effort, from surveying and verifying ownership according to the Canadian legal system to managing the transfers themselves. Much of the land in question was natural wetland and inaccessible in winter, so plans had to accommodate those realities. The Township applied for external funding to help cover costs, some of which went toward land stewardship activities as well.

More than 50 individual parcels of land were assessed and processed to be designated for conservation or land transfer.

Results

In a landmark step toward Reconciliation, the Township sold 95 acres of land to Moose Deer Point First Nation for $1. This symbolized meaningful action to rectify past harms, reconnecting Moose Deer Point First Nation with their Ancestral territories and reinforcing traditional relationships and responsibilities to the land. By transferring this land, the Township of Georgian Bay has taken an essential step toward healing historical injustices, honouring traditional stewardship roles and creating an ecosystem for sustainable coexistence.