Mission, vision, and values

The 2009-2014 Strategic Plan sets out the mission, vision, and values of Ministère.

Mission

Protect the environment and conserve biodiversity in order to enhance the living environment of Quebecers.

Vision

In keeping with its key responsibilities to Quebecers as a whole and to its partners, the MDDEFP undertakes to:

Promote sustainable development by protecting Québec’s environment and natural heritage in cooperation with its partners

Values

To carry out its mission, the MDDEFP relies on the creativity of its employees and bases its actions on the values of equity, thoroughness, responsibility, transparency, and respect.

Fields of Activity

The MDDEFP operates in the following areas:

• Development and implementation of policies, laws, regulations, and programs on:
  • Preventing and reducing water, air, and ground contamination
  • Combating and adapting to climate change
  • Ensuring the quality of drinking water
  • Conserving biodiversity
  • Reducing, reclaiming, and managing residual materials
  • Conservating, protecting and developing of wildlife and wildlife habitats

• Coordination of the government’s sustainable development initiative within the public service

• Development, coordination, and implementation of strategies for combating and adapting to climate change

• Protecting Québec’s ecosystems and biodiversity through the development of a network of protected areas that include national parks, and safeguarding endangered or vulnerable wildlife and floristic species and their habitats

• Environmental assessment of projects and strategic evaluation of environmental issues

• Oversight of environmental protection law and regulation enforcement, especially through analysis of authorization and permit applications, inspections, inquiries and legal and administrative recourse

• Land management and integrity of Québec’s public water property, including operating public dams and monitoring dam safety

• Observing and gathering knowledge of ecosystems and their components

• Managing wildlife development activities

• Monitoring and controlling the use of the wildlife resource

• Maintaining intergovernmental and international relations in its areas of interest

Mission, vision, values

Fields of activity

Services

Agencies

Partners

Clientele

Statement of values (French)

Organization Chart
(French, PDF file)

Services

The MDDEFP provides the following services:

• Delivers environmental authorizations and permits
• Responding to environmental emergencies
• Handling environmental complaints
• Conducting environmental analyses
• Certification/recognition of experts
• Issuing professional and technical environmental advisories
• Assisting government ministries and agencies in carrying out their sustainable developing initiatives
• Providing financial support for environmental organizations and projects
• Providing information and documentation on environmental and sustainable development issues, including applicable regulations for fishing, hunting and trapping

Agencies

Two agencies assist the MDDEFP in fulfilling its mission:

• The Centre d’expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec guarantees the availability, quality, and continuity of analytical data and expertise required to meet environmental protection and resource conservation needs. It works in the field of environmental (mainly biological, chemical, ecotoxicological, microbiological)  and quality system management analysis).
• The Centre d’expertise hydrique du Québec regulates water flow through public dam operation, land management and ensuring the integrity of public water property and dam safety control. The Center also helps municipalities identify flood-prone areas and flood prevention methods. More generally, it collects the hydrological and hydraulic data needed by the MDDEFP for managing Québec’s water resource.

Partners

The MDDEFP relies on four key partners to fulfill its mission. The Société québécoise de récupération et de recyclage (RECYC-QUÉBEC) promotes the reclamation of residual materials. The Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) conducts inquiries and public consultations. The Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SÉPAQ) manages selected natural areas, national parks, wildlife reserves and tourist facilities for which it has jurisdiction. The mission of the Fondation de la faune du Québec is to promote wildlife and wildlife habitat conservation and development everywhere in Québec. Its mandate covers birds, mammals, fish, amphibians and reptiles.

The MDDEFP provides financial support to the Montréal Metropolitan Community (MMC) for clean air management on the Island of Montréal and helps enforce MMC Regulation 2001-10.

The MDDEFP also works closely with the Ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation, Ministère des Transports, Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire, Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation, Ministère de la Sécurité publique, Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux and its network, Ministère des Finances et de l'Économie, as well as various government agencies and municipalities. It maintains relations with environmental and conservation organizations, universities, research centers, and municipal, industrial, aboriginal, sport hunting, fishing and trapping, outdoors and agricultural associations.

The MDDEFP also takes part in Canadian environmental forums, such as the Canadian Council of Environment Ministers, as well as international forums that deal with environmental issues, including the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers, the Council of Great Lakes Governors and the Great Lakes Commission. It also helps implement the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and the Canada–United States Air Quality Agreement, and sits on the International St. Lawrence Board of Control, established by the International Joint Commission.

Québec has also established new international partnerships to combat climate change. It has been a member of the Climate Group and the Climate Registry since 2007 and joined the Western Climate Initiative and the International Carbon Action Partnership in 2008. In the same year, Québec signed a cooperation protocol with Ontario on the development of a carbon market in Canada and is an observer of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a North American measure.

• Wildlife mission partners (French)

Clientele

The Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement, de la Faune et des Parcs acts on behalf of the citizens of Québec to ensure a healthy environment and contribute to their quality of life in order to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Specifically, the MDDEFP’s clientele includes individuals, groups and organizations, laboratories, and businesses that must obtain authorizations under environmental legislation, hold accreditations, are recognized as experts by the MDDEFP or that wish to exercise the rights granted to them under laws administered by the MDDEFP. Its clientele also includes anyone that practices hunting, fishing or trapping as well as enthusiasts of natural environment outdoor activities and who request information or seek action for such purposes as preserving a natural environment or a species and wish to establish a conservation partnership.