Public Safety & Nuisances · Bylaw 352-2025

Noise, dogs, winter parking and door-to-door sales: the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent's public-safety bylaw

Bylaw 352-2025, adopted by the council of the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent on May 21, 2025 and in force since September 8, 2025, sets common rules on alarms, animals, parking, peddling, nuisances, public order, the regional bike path and pawnshops. Fines start at $75 for some parking offences, reach $10,000 for an individual under the potentially-dangerous-dog provisions, and double for a repeat offence.

The bylaw does not name the municipalities where it applies. Ormstown's own animal bylaw, 131-2026, in force since April 17, 2026, also sets rules for dogs.

The Ormstown Observer · Bylaws & Regulations Explainer

Key takeaway

This is the MRC's bylaw. It applies across the territory of the MRC's municipalities that are part of the agreement for Sûreté du Québec police services (art. 1.2).
No excessive noise heard past your property line, and no construction, demolition or repair noise from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. except emergency work (art. 6.1–6.2).
Dogs must be registered within 30 days and wear their tag. In public, outside dog parks and canine activities, they must be on a non-retractable leash of at most 1.85 m (art. 3.3.1, 3.3.4, 3.3.5).
No parking on any street or road from 00:00 (12 a.m.) on November 15 to 6 a.m. on April 15, as indicated on the signs at the entrances to the municipality (art. 4.9).
Door-to-door selling needs a municipal permit and is banned weekdays from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m., Saturdays from 5 p.m. to midnight, and on Sundays (art. 5.1, 5.8).

Why this bylaw exists

The preamble cites the Loi sur les compétences municipales and Québec's law on the supervision of dogs. Article 1.3 states the aim: harmonized, uniform application of the same rules by peace officers and the autorité compétente, and avoiding incompatible and multiple bylaws on the same subject.

Notice of motion was given and the draft tabled at the MRC council sitting of April 16, 2025. The bylaw was adopted May 21, 2025, published May 26, 2025, and took effect September 8, 2025. It passed unanimously and was signed by the MRC's prefect and its director general.

Chapter 13 gives the bylaw precedence over any bylaw or regulatory provision on the same subject in force on the territory of the Municipality and of the MRC, and says it repeals “les règlements suivants” (the following bylaws). The posted copy does not list them.

Who enforces it

A peace officer is a Sûreté du Québec police officer. The autorité compétente is a peace officer, a firefighter and/or anyone designated by the council of the municipality or of the MRC (art. 1.6). The Sûreté du Québec and/or the autorité compétente can bring penal proceedings and issue statements of offence (art. 2.6), and proceedings go before the municipal court (chap. 12).

Animals and dogs

Barking or howling that disturbs the peace or carries past the property line is a nuisance (art. 3.1).
A dog must be registered within 30 days of its acquisition, of the owner settling in a municipality, or of the dog turning 3 months old; the fee is set by the municipality (art. 3.3.1). A dog may not be on someone else's property unless expressly allowed (art. 3.3.6).
Keepers must pick up droppings immediately, except for guide or working dogs (art. 3.8), and report a bite to the autorité compétente immediately (art. 3.6).

The autorité compétente can declare a dog potentially dangerous after written notice to the owner (art. 3.4.1–3.4.5). Such a dog must, among other conditions, wear a basket muzzle and a leash of at most 1.25 m in public (art. 3.4.7). If a dog has bitten or attacked a person and caused death or a serious injury, the autorité compétente orders its owner to have it euthanized (art. 3.4.6).

Ormstown's animal bylaw, 131-2026, adopted April 13, 2026 and in force since April 17, 2026, requires a licence within 15 days (art. 23). Its preamble says the MRC adopted Bylaw 352-2025. Its articles 75 and 76 repeal bylaws 130-2020 and 130-2022 and earlier municipal bylaws or provisions incompatible with it, and do not name 352-2025. Its article 3 says that where provisions appear incompatible, the most restrictive ones, or those that best protect public safety, prevail.

Parking

The bylaw bans parking where signs forbid it (art. 4.2), in a space for people with disabilities without the sticker (art. 4.3), and in parks or on grass (art. 4.10). The autorité compétente may tow a vehicle at its owner's expense for snow removal or in an emergency (art. 4.13).

Door-to-door sales

Peddlers need a permit from the municipality and, where applicable, from the Office de la protection du consommateur (art. 5.1). Public bodies and non-profits recognized by the municipality, among others, are exempt (art. 5.2). No peddling where a “Pas de colporteur” or “Pas de sollicitation” sign is posted (art. 5.7). Ormstown's fee bylaw 39-2026 sets the permit at $200, free for non-profits (item 80).

Noise and other nuisances

Farm activities are exempt from the noise rule, but bird-scaring cannons are banned from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. (art. 6.1). Music heard past the property line needs the written authorization of the autorité compétente (art. 6.3).
No firearm, air gun, bow or crossbow within 100 m of any building, or from a road or within 50 m on either side of its right-of-way (art. 6.4). No fireworks without a permit from the designated person (art. 6.5).
No refuse in a public place, watercourse or ditch, or on your own property, and no scrap metal carcasses (art. 6.7–6.9). Refuse includes tall grass, tires, scrap, and vehicles not registered for the current year or not in working order (art. 1.6).

Public order

No drinking, or carrying an open container of alcohol, in a public place, except at events authorized by the municipality that hold a Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux permit (art. 7.1).
An event or parade of more than 15 participants in a public place needs a municipal permit; funerals and weddings are exempt (art. 7.10).

Penalties

Offence	Individual / company
Needless alarms (an offence from the third in 12 consecutive months, art. 2.3): first, second, later offences within 2 years (minimums)	$200 / $400; $300 / $600; $400 / $800
Animal noise, control, droppings, failure to report a bite	$200 / $400
Dog registration and tag	$250–$750 / $500–$1,500
Dog leash and control; dog on someone else's property	$500–$1,500 / $1,000–$3,000
Bite or attack; potentially dangerous dog conditions	$1,000–$2,500 / $2,000–$5,000
Potentially-dangerous-dog provisions (art. 3.4.2, 3.4.3, 3.4.5) or a euthanasia order (art. 3.4.6)	$1,000–$10,000 / $2,000–$20,000
Parking: blocking traffic, expired time, winter ban, parks	$75
Space for people with disabilities	$200–$300
Other parking	$200
Peddling	$500
Refuse, scrap carcasses	$400 / $800
Barbecue or other cooking appliance in a park outside signed areas	$400 / $800
Other nuisances, including noise; other public-order offences	$200 / $400

In chapters 3 to 9, fines double for a repeat offence, meaning the same offence within 36 months of a guilty plea or conviction (art. 1.6, 3.12.8, 4.14, 5.10, 6.14, 7.28, 8.11, 9.12). In chapters 3 to 8, costs are added and each day an offence continues is a separate offence.

What this means for residents

The Sûreté du Québec and/or the autorité compétente can issue statements of offence under this bylaw (art. 2.6). Door-to-door selling (art. 5.1) and an event or parade of more than 15 participants in a public place (art. 7.10) need a municipal permit, and fireworks need a permit from the designated person (art. 6.5).

Sources

This explainer summarizes the bylaw in plain language. The French text is the official version; check it, or ask the municipality, before relying on any detail.

This bylaw explainer is presented as a courtesy of The Ormstown Observer in the interest of promoting a better understanding of the rules and regulations that govern the community. The content presented in Bylaw Explainers is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, legal opinion, or a substitute for professional legal counsel.