Wood heating regulations: citizens threaten to sue Quebec City

Citizens are calling on the City of Quebec to modify its by-law banning certain wood heating appliances, otherwise they threaten to sue the Municipality for violating their “right to energy”.

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The citizens, represented by lawyer Samuel Samson, believe that the regulation prohibiting the use of uncertified wood stoves (from 2026) and ambient fireplaces (from 2030) “infringes the right to ‘energy”. This is the first legal approach of this type, underlines M^e Samson.

It aims to recognize the “right to access energy, the ability to self-satisfy vital needs and the freedom to achieve this [leurs] customers and more broadly, residents of Quebec City,” specifies the formal notice, filed with the City on Monday. This right to energy is, according to M^e Samson, implicitly recognized by the Canadian charter and the Quebec charter and this cause could become a test case for its formal recognition.

Smog days

The four citizens and their lawyer demand that by February 15, the City modify its by-law so that it does not infringe on the right to energy. According to them, the regulations should be limited to suspending the right to use wood heating appliances during days when air quality reaches a dangerous threshold for health.

For the citizens met, the right to heat themselves by the means of their choice should not be hindered. “I believe in the freedom to choose your energy source as you want. I find this to be a fundamental right for every citizen. I do not find that health is a legal reason, otherwise we must ban knives and cars, because there are risks for people,” maintains Ziad Salloum, from Val-Bélair.

Breakdown stress

For Sonia Joannette, who is a harpist and must keep her instruments at a minimum temperature of 16 degrees, electrical outages are a source of stress. “If there is no electricity, I fear losing the instruments.” In his house in Neufchâtel, it was impossible to install a wood stove. And since it is now forbidden to install ambient fireplaces, the only possibility remains additional gas heating which would cost $25,000.

Alexandre Lemay, for his part, moved two years ago into a condo in Charlesbourg, which he chose, among other things, for its atmospheric fireplace. The modifications to remove it would cost at least $30,000 and it would negatively affect the value of his property, he believes. “What bothers us is that we have it shoved down our throats,” says the person who initiated the appeal. “It started out of frustration. What I wanted was for the City to recognize acquired rights.”