Cultural Heritage Act (chapter P-9.002).

The object of this Act is to promote, in the public interest and from a sustainable development perspective, the knowledge, protection, enhancement and transmission of cultural heritage, which is a reflection of a society’s identity. It is also intended to promote the designation of deceased persons of historical importance and historic events and sites. Cultural heritage consists of deceased persons of historical importance, historic events and sites, heritage documents, immovables, objects and sites, heritage cultural landscapes, and intangible heritage. CHAPTER II regulates cultural heritage register and inventories; chapter III concerns designation and protection of cultural heritage by the minister and the government. Under this Chapter the Minister is responsible for the designation of “intangible heritage” defined as the skills, knowledge, expressions, practices and representations handed down from generation to generation and constantly recreated, in conjunction with any cultural objects or spaces associated with them, that a community or group recognizes as part of its cultural heritage, the knowledge, protection, transmission or enhancement of which is in the public interest. To what concern “heritage cultural landscape” the designation is made by the Government under recommendation of the Minister; it can also be requested by all the local municipalities, regional county municipalities and metropolitan communities whose territory includes all or part of the land area concerned. Furthermore the Government may, on the recommendation of the Minister who must obtain the opinion of the council, declare as a “heritage site” any land area the knowledge, protection, transmission or enhancement of which is in the public interest. Furthermore the Chapter disciplines orders and Minister’s general and administrative powers.
Chapter IV provides the discipline for identification and protection of cultural heritage by municipalities; the Chapter establishes that a municipality may, by by-law and after obtaining the opinion of the local heritage council identify elements of intangible heritage and/or recognize all or part of a document, immovable, object or site situated in its territory as heritage property, the knowledge, protection, enhancement or transmission of which is in the public interest. Under the Act “local heritage council” means the planning advisory committee established under section 146 of the Act respecting land use planning and development (chapter A-19.1) or the council established under section 154 of this Act, as determined by the council of the local municipality.
Chapter V concerns the transfer of responsibility and rules to regulate or prevent the duplication of protection, Chapter VI establishes what information must sent to the regional county municipality or to the metropolitan community, Chapter VI.1 recognises and regulate the exercise of certain powers by Ville De Québec and Ville De Montréal. Chapter VII concerns inspections and investigations and Chapter VIII disciplines penalties and remedies. Chapter X and XI contains respectively amending, and transitional and final provisions.