Quebec Scraps Forestry Bill After Pushback From Indigenous Leaders, Environmentalists – Forestry.com
Press Release
QUEBEC CITY September 25, 2025 Premier François Legault announced Thursday that his government is abandoning Bill 97, a sweeping forestry reform that had drawn months of fierce opposition from Indigenous nations, environmental organizations, labour unions, and municipal officials.
The move revealed during Legault’s speech at the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM) annual congress marks a major reversal for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government and resets one of its most ambitious natural-resource policies.
“We are restarting the consultations with Indigenous nations, with forestry entrepreneurs, and with you, the prefects and mayors. We are not going to bring back Bill 97,” Legault told delegates, signaling a full retreat after a summer of escalating protests.
