Regional county municipality
Encyclopedia
The term regional county municipality or RCM (French
: municipalité régionale de comté, MRC) is used in Quebec
to designate one of 86 county
-like political and geographic units. In most cases, they are also census divisions. Regional County Municipalities are a supralocal type of "Regional Municipality
" and are still commonly referred to as counties
. "RCM"s also act as the local municipality in areas within their borders that are not organised as municipalities.
For a list of RCMs and equivalent territories, see List of regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in Quebec.
The prefect is usually elected by and from the council by secret ballot. Universal suffrage may also be used. The prefect's mandate is 2 years when elected by council or 4 years when elected by universal suffrage.
An MRC must:
Indian reserves which would, but for their status as Indian reserves, belong to a certain RCM in the political sense are included in the geographical RCM corresponding to that RCM. There are 86 MRCGs of this kind, one for each RCM.
The rest of the province is grouped into 18 "territories equivalent to an RCM" (French: territoires équivalents à une MRC or territoires équivalents, abbreviated TÉ), which are also considered to be MRCGs. This is done as follows.
, geographical code and date of incorporation, see List of the official municipalities of Québec, Institut de la Statistique du Québec (ISQ). Note that the ISQ includes the six Indian settlement
s in the list, whereas the Répertoire des municipalités of the Ministère des Affaires municipales et régionales does not list them as separate from the legal municipalities or unorganized territories in which they are located. Both sources include all other types of Aboriginal communities.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: municipalité régionale de comté, MRC) is used in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to designate one of 86 county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
-like political and geographic units. In most cases, they are also census divisions. Regional County Municipalities are a supralocal type of "Regional Municipality
Regional municipality
A regional municipality is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place...
" and are still commonly referred to as counties
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
. "RCM"s also act as the local municipality in areas within their borders that are not organised as municipalities.
For a list of RCMs and equivalent territories, see List of regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in Quebec.
Governance and responsibilities
The council of an MRC is composed of the mayors of the member municipalities as well as a prefect.The prefect is usually elected by and from the council by secret ballot. Universal suffrage may also be used. The prefect's mandate is 2 years when elected by council or 4 years when elected by universal suffrage.
An MRC must:
- manage land useLand useLand use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...
by creating a land use scheme and revise it every five years; - establish a plan for waste managementWaste managementWaste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
, fire protectionFire protectionFire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of...
, and civil protection (policePoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
); - apply the land use scheme;
- make and administer urban planningUrban planningUrban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
rules in unorganized territories; - see to the proper functioning of watercourses in its territory, especially those used for agricultural drainage;
- prepare the evaluation rollReal estate appraisalReal estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of valuing real property. The value usually sought is the property's Market Value. Appraisals are needed because compared to, say, corporate stock, real estate transactions occur very infrequently...
s for local municipalities; - sell buildings for property tax default;
- name or create, and fund, a local development centre to support regional businesses.
Municipalities not belonging to an RCM
RCMs, in their definition as political units, do not cover the entire territory of Quebec. The local municipalities of Quebec (and equivalent Aboriginal territories) not belonging to an RCM fall into the following categories:- all Indian reserveIndian reserveIn Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
s; - 14 cities and urban agglomerationsUrban agglomerations of QuebecAn agglomeration, or urban agglomeration, is an administrative subdivision of Quebec at the local level that may group together a number of municipalities which were abolished as independent entities on 1 January 2002 but reconstituted on 1 January 2006.Urban agglomerations have certain powers that...
which do not belong to any RCM because they themselves exercise some or all of the powers which are normally those of an RCM (a city or agglomeration in some cases exercises only some of these powers because some RCM powers are in turn delegated to a metropolitan community), namely the:- urban agglomeration of Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec
- urban agglomeration of Quebec
- city of LévisLévis, QuebecLévis is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre Laporte Bridge, connect western Lévis with Quebec City. The Société de transport de...
- city of Shawinigan
- city of Trois-RivièresTrois-RivièresTrois-Rivières means three rivers in French and may refer to:in Canada*Trois-Rivières, the largest city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada*Circuit Trois-Rivières, a racetrack in Trois-Rivières, Quebec...
- city of Sherbrooke
- urban agglomeration of LongueuilLongueuilLongueuil is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly across from Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census totaled 229,330, making it the third largest city in...
- city of LavalLaval, QuebecLaval is a Canadian city and a region in southwestern Quebec. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third largest municipality in the province of Quebec, and the 14th largest city in Canada with a population of 368,709 in 2006...
- urban agglomeration of MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
- city of MirabelMirabel, QuebecMirabel is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is an off-island suburb north-west of Montreal.Mirabel is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality and census division of Quebec, coextensive with the city of Mirabel. Its geographical code is 74.Mirabel's population was...
- city of GatineauGatineauGatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
- city of Rouyn-Noranda
- urban agglomeration of La TuqueLa Tuque, QuebecLa Tuque is a city in south central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. In 2006, it had a population of 11,821 Latuquois....
- city of SaguenaySaguenay, QuebecSaguenay is a city in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City....
;
- all the municipalities of the Nord-du-QuébecNord-du-QuébecNord-du-Québec is the largest of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. With , of which are lakes and rivers, it covers much of the Labrador Peninsula and about 55% of the total land surface area of Quebec....
administrative region; and - the parish municipality of Notre-Dame-des-AngesNotre-Dame-des-Anges, QuebecNotre-Dame-des-Anges is a parish municipality in Quebec, Canada, home of the General Hospital of Quebec.Enclaved within the territory of Quebec City, this unusual municipality, lacking any governmental structure, has a population of 437 and measures only 6 hectares in area, making it the smallest...
.
RCMs as geographical units
For provincial statistical purposes, the Institut de la Statistique du Québec uses the following system so that the entire territory of Quebec is divided into 104 units known as municipalités régionales de comté géographiques (MRCG) "geographical regional county municipalities".Indian reserves which would, but for their status as Indian reserves, belong to a certain RCM in the political sense are included in the geographical RCM corresponding to that RCM. There are 86 MRCGs of this kind, one for each RCM.
The rest of the province is grouped into 18 "territories equivalent to an RCM" (French: territoires équivalents à une MRC or territoires équivalents, abbreviated TÉ), which are also considered to be MRCGs. This is done as follows.
- The 14 cities and urban agglomerations not belonging to an RCM (see above) each form their own TE, except that:
- the TE of Québec consists of the urban agglomeration of Quebec, the parish municipality of Notre-Dame-des-Anges and the Indian reserve of WendakeWendake, QuebecWendake is the current name for the Huron-Wendat reserve, an enclave within Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. One of the Seven Nations of Canada, this was formerly known as Village-des-Hurons , and also as -Lorette....
; and - the TE of La Tuque consists of the urban agglomeration of La Tuque and three Indian reserves.
- The Nord-du-QuébecNord-du-QuébecNord-du-Québec is the largest of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. With , of which are lakes and rivers, it covers much of the Labrador Peninsula and about 55% of the total land surface area of Quebec....
administrative region is divided into three TEs as follows: - The TE of Kativik is contained in the Nord-du-Québec region and consists of those municipalities under the jurisdiction of the Kativik Regional GovernmentKativik Regional GovernmentKativik redirects here. For the statistical area, see Kativik .The Kativik Regional Government encompasses most of the Nunavik region of Quebec. Nunavik is the northern half of the Nord-du-Québec administrative region and includes all the territory north of the 55th parallel...
. The Kativik region comprises all northern villages and Inuit reserved lands, the only Naskapi villageNaskapiThe Naskapi are the indigenous Innu inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, which comprises most of what other Canadians refer to as eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada....
in the province, and two unorganized territoriesUnorganized territoryAn unorganized territory is a region of land without a "normally" constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory...
. - The TE of Eeyou Istchee is contained in the Nord-du-Québec region and consists of those municipalities under the jurisdiction of the Cree Regional Authority. The Eeyou Istchee TE comprises all Cree villages and Cree reserved lands, and the Indian settlementIndian settlementAn Indian settlement is a census subdivision outlined by the Canadian government Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada for census purposes. These areas have at least 10 Indian people who live, more or less, permanently in the given area...
of Oujé-BougoumouOujé-Bougoumou, QuebecOujé-Bougoumou is the newest Cree community located on the shores of Lake Opemisca, in the Jamésie region of Quebec, Canada...
. - The TE of Jamésie is that portion of the Nord-du-Québec region which is not in the Kativik TE or the Eeyou Istchee TE. It consists of the five non-Aboriginal municipalities in the Nord-du-Québec region.
Census divisions
Census divisions (CDs) are used for statistical purposes by Statistics Canada. Quebec is divided into 98 CDs, each of which is assigned a unique two-digit geographical code. For the most part, census divisions consist of a single RCM or TE (territory equivalent to an RCM), exactly as defined above. The only exceptions are five census divisions divided into 11 RCMs or TEs, two or three each. For a list, see List of regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in Quebec#Use as census divisions.Geographical code of Quebec
All local municipalities, equivalent Aboriginal territories, Indian settlements and unorganized territories in Quebec are assigned a unique five-digit geographical code. The first two-digits are the code of the census division in which the municipality is located. For a list of all municipalities in Quebec together with their legal statusTypes of municipalities in Quebec
The following is a list of the types of local and supralocal territorial units in Quebec, including those used solely for statistical purposes, as defined by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec....
, geographical code and date of incorporation, see List of the official municipalities of Québec, Institut de la Statistique du Québec (ISQ). Note that the ISQ includes the six Indian settlement
Indian settlement
An Indian settlement is a census subdivision outlined by the Canadian government Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada for census purposes. These areas have at least 10 Indian people who live, more or less, permanently in the given area...
s in the list, whereas the Répertoire des municipalités of the Ministère des Affaires municipales et régionales does not list them as separate from the legal municipalities or unorganized territories in which they are located. Both sources include all other types of Aboriginal communities.
See also
- Administrative subdivisions of Quebec
- Census geographic units of Canada
- List of regional county municipalities in Quebec
- Local government in QuebecLocal government in QuebecThe lowest unit of local government in Quebec is the municipality, also called local municipality to distinguish it from the higher-level regional county municipality or RCM, which is also a municipal government at the supralocal level....
- Types of municipalities in QuebecTypes of municipalities in QuebecThe following is a list of the types of local and supralocal territorial units in Quebec, including those used solely for statistical purposes, as defined by the Institut de la Statistique du Québec....