Occupation licences

The Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks is responsible for issuing not-for-profit occupation licences.

Occupation licences to install or maintain the following must be applied for:

• Floating anchorage platforms that are moveable or built on piles and boathouses built on piles, whose size exceeds 20 m² or that occupy more than 1/10 of the width of the watercourse bed where they are positioned
• Structures that collect and/or discharge water
• Structures that serve to protect the banks of river parcels from erosion, subsidence, landslides and/or floods
• Bridges whose foundations on the water property bed do not exceed 1/10 of the width of the river where they are positioned
• Cables, pipes and/or other structures, except for jetties used to provide inter-bank links or communications facilities
• Mooring anchorages

If you do not own the waterfront property that is adjacent to the water property in the domain of the State, the Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs is required to notify the owner of the adjacent waterfront property about comments they may wish to submit on any potential impact to their waterfront rights.

The installation of new structures, requires an attestation of compliance with municipal bylaws (PDF 209 Kb) (French), signed by the clerk or secretary-treasurer of the municipality. The attestation must certify that the structures meet current municipal bylaws.

Fill out the Application to grant or modify rights  (French) and the Sketch for an application for a lease or an occupation licence (PDF 296 Kb) (French) form online.

An acknowledgement of receipt will be provided once the application has been submitted.

Applications are reviewed on a preliminary basis, free of charge.

If the review concludes that the structures are not located on water property in the domain of the State, written notification will be sent and the file will be closed.

If the review concludes that the structures are located on water property in the domain of the State and the type of right applied for is confirmed, processing of the file will continue. Additional information may be requested.

If the file qualifies, the applicant will receive a request to pay for the cost of the occupation licence and any applicable GST and PST. The cost is based on the type of structure. Payment must be made by cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finance.

The original of the occupation licence will then be mailed to the applicant.

Occupation licences are valid for one year and are automatically renewed on a year-by-year basis. No fees apply.

However, a new licence must be applied for when ownership changes.

Licences are cancelled when the related occupation ends and can also be revoked by the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks if their conditions are not met.