Tree Cutting & Removal Rules

A "certificat d'autorisation" is required before felling a tree on private property. Removing a tree without one is prohibited by default under the zoning bylaw.

Removal is only allowed if: it's unavoidable for authorized construction or work; the tree is dead, in irreversible decline, or incurably diseased; it's a danger to public safety or health; it's an unsolvable major nuisance or is seriously damaging property; or it's part of an approved selective-cutting forest management plan (with cutting restricted outside nesting season, September 1 to March 31).

Explicitly not valid reasons on their own: normal inconveniences like falling twigs, leaves, flowers, or fruit, surface roots, insects or animals, shade, odours, sap, or pollen.

The bylaw defines "abattage" broadly - it covers topping, removing more than 20% of live branches, girdling, cutting more than 20% of the root system, burying roots under 15 cm or more of fill, or any action that's causally linked to the tree's death. In other words, you don't have to fell the whole tree to trigger the permit requirement.

A tree felled in a riparian/shoreline zone must be replaced within 6 months, with the replacement species pre-approved by the City. Separately, new residential builds generally need at least one medium or large tree in the front (or secondary front) yard - more on wider lots - planted within 18 months of the building permit; if planting isn't feasible, the owner pays a compensation fee into a dedicated municipal fund instead.

Under the current bylaw, the base fine is $500, plus $500 to $1,000 per tree illegally felled on land up to 1 hectare (capped around $15,000), with higher per-hectare penalties for larger clearcutting and doubled amounts on repeat offences within 2 years. Older sources cite a $600 minimum fine tied to a 2016 regulation and an August 2024 fine schedule - those appear to be superseded by the November 2025 bylaw figures above, which should be treated as the current ones.

If a tree is hazardous, the City can order the owner to prune or fell it. If the owner doesn't comply, the City can do the work itself and recover the cost through a legal hypothec on the property.

The City has been dealing with emerald ash borer since first detecting it in 2015, and has restricted ash-tree cutting to October 1-March 15 to slow the pest's spread, alongside information for residents on preventive TreeAzin insecticide treatment and progressive replacement of municipal ash trees. Current-year program details (subsidy amounts, current scope) weren't confirmed in this research pass - check with the City for what's currently available.