Mission and mandates of the Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs

The mission of the Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs is to protect the environment, ensure the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity, and play a key role in the climate transition from a sustainable perspective, in order to contribute to the priority issues of Québec society.

Its vision: to unite efforts to make Québec a leader in wildlife, environmental protection and climate transition.

The Ministère’s core values are:

• Collaboration;
• Expertise;
• Rigour;
• Leadership;
• Innovation;
• Passion.

The Ministère’s main mandates are to:

• Develop and implement, after their adoption, policies, strategies, programs, bills and regulations related to its areas of responsibility;
• Produce and disseminate relevant and useful information in all its areas of activity, for the benefit of the public;
• Provide government leadership and coordination in Québec’s climate and energy transition;
• Coordinate the government’s sustainable development process within the Administration;
• Protect Québec’s ecosystems and biodiversity, notably through the development of a network of protected areas and the conservation of threatened or vulnerable plant and animal species and their habitats;
• Plan and develop Québec’s national parks network and oversee its management;
• Promote the growth and development of the wildlife sector industry and manage hunting, fishing and trapping rights and licences;
• Carry out environmental assessments of major projects and strategic assessments of environmental issues;
• Assess the environmental acceptability of authorization requests under the applicable legal and regulatory framework, and, where appropriate, issue the related authorizations and permits;
• Enforce environmental legislation by monitoring compliance of activities that may cause environmental harm, and, where appropriate, by implementing prevention, protection and remediation measures through inspections, investigations and administrative actions;
• Ensure the compliance and long-term viability of wildlife-related activities and protect biodiversity by enforcing legislation and regulations through monitoring and investigations that may lead to offence notices, searches and the dismantling of poaching networks;
• Educate and raise public awareness on issues related to its areas of responsibility;
• Operate public dams entrusted to the Ministère and ensure their functionality, safety and long-term sustainability;
• Improve dam safety in Québec to protect people and property from the risks associated with these structures;
• Foster the development of intergovernmental and international relations in its areas of interest.

The Ministère also offers other services, including accreditation of environmental analysis laboratories, complaint processing, the SOS Poaching – Wildlife Emergency service and the Urgence-Environnement service.

To support the funding of certain activities, the Ministère manages four special funds:

• the Environmental Protection and Water Resources Fund;
• the Energy Transition, Innovation and Efficiency Fund;
• the Electrification and Climate Change Fund;
• the Natural Resources Fund – wildlife conservation and development stream.

*The term “Administration” is defined in section 3 of the Sustainable Development Act (chapter D‑8.1.1).