A significant judicial victory once again highlights Dunton Rainville’s deep expertise in municipal law and taxation. Faced with complex issues involving municipal regulatory and financial powers, Me Alain Chevrier and Me Émilie Corriveau successfully defended the validity of an innovative tax framework. This matter demonstrates the firm’s ability to safeguard municipal fiscal autonomy and contribute to the development of jurisprudence before the highest courts.
The dispute between Place Rosemère Inc. and the Town of Rosemère concerned the validity of several fiscal measures adopted under the Town’s 2023 taxation by-law. These measures included a second tax rate applicable to non-residential immovables, a special tax intended to fund a financial reserve dedicated to repaying loans contracted for various municipal infrastructure projects, as well as certain measures relating to parking spaces and developments designed to reduce heat islands.
Place Rosemère challenged, among other things, the legality of the taxation regime implemented by the Town and maintained that the Town could not impose a second tax rate without first adopting, by resolution or by-law, a strategy aimed at reducing the fiscal disparity between residential and non-residential immovables in accordance with the Act respecting municipal taxation. The company further contended that certain provisions of the by-law were invalid or insufficiently precise, particularly those providing exemptions for certain parking spaces “designed in a manner intended to reduce heat islands,” arguing that the criteria were too vague to clearly identify the types of developments contemplated. In addition, it challenged the validity of the special tax imposed to finance the municipal financial reserve, arguing in particular that it did not derive sufficient benefit from the projects financed through loans repaid from that reserve.
Represented by Dunton Rainville, the Town of Rosemère was successful before the Superior Court, which dismissed the application in its entirety and upheld the validity of the contested measures. Place Rosemère subsequently appealed the matter before the Court of Appeal.
In a judgment rendered on May 11, 2026, the Court of Appeal upheld the first-instance decision and dismissed the appeal in its entirety. The Court notably concluded that a municipality may “adopt” a strategy within the meaning of section 244.64.9 of the Act respecting municipal taxation without requiring formal adoption by resolution or by-law where the legislation does not expressly require it, the strategy in question constituting instead an internal administrative document without binding force.
The Court also confirmed the validity of the contested special tax. In this regard, it held that the amounts collected through this tax were entirely allocated to a financial reserve used to repay several loans contracted to finance various infrastructure projects throughout the Town’s territory. Although certain funded projects did not directly benefit Place Rosemère, the Court concluded that all taxpayers nevertheless benefited from this financing structure, notably through the interest savings generated by repaying the loans through the financial reserve, as well as through the overall improvement of the municipality’s infrastructure financing capacity. The Court also emphasized that the tax was not intended solely to fund projects benefiting a specific sector of the Town, but rather projects benefiting the municipality as a whole.
Finally, the Court upheld the validity of the regulatory measures relating to parking spaces and developments intended to reduce heat islands, concluding that it was not necessary for the by-law to address every conceivable situation to be valid, and that the contested provisions remained sufficiently intelligible to a reasonable person.
Through this landmark case, Dunton Rainville reaffirms its position as a leading strategic partner to Québec’s municipal sector. The outcome of this litigation not only confirms the validity of the Town of Rosemère’s decisions but also sends a strong message to public administrations throughout the province regarding the flexibility and legitimacy of their fiscal and environmental management tools. Through exemplary legal rigour and a nuanced understanding of the realities facing local communities, Dunton Rainville continues to set the standard of excellence within the profession.