Canada and Ontario: Why a Municipality Can Easily Adopt the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights and Its Fifteen Commitments

On June 9, 2026, the Municipal Council of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, Quebec,
unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2026-06-111, becoming the first municipality in the
world to officially adhere to the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights.

This decision demonstrated that a Canadian municipality can recognize the principles of
the Declaration and organize their progressive implementation without waiting for prior
reform of federal or provincial law.

The same question now arises in Ontario.

Ontario municipal law differs from Quebec law, but it also provides municipalities with
extensive powers relating to environmental well-being, climate change, land-use planning,
tree protection, the management of public spaces and green infrastructure.

An Ontario municipality may therefore, within the limits of its legal powers, officially adopt the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights and the Fifteen Commitments of Local and Regional Authorities. Within the official institutional framework stewarded by La Compagnie des Papillons Bleus, adoption of the Declaration is inseparable from the simultaneous and full adoption of the Fifteen Commitments. Their implementation is then progressive and adapted to the municipality’s powers, resources and territorial circumstances.

The consideration initiated in July 2026 by the Municipality of Port Hope
provides a particularly instructive example. It demonstrates that recognition of the
fundamental rights of the Tree can be brought before an Ontario municipal council.

It also reveals the importance of properly understanding the legal nature of the Declaration,
its official adoption framework and the distinction between an institutional resolution and
the by-laws or other measures that may subsequently ensure its implementation.

1. Why the Declaration Is Universal

The Universal Declaration of Tree Rights is not tied to any particular legal, land-based or
territorial mechanism.

It sets out common principles intended to transform the relationship between humanity and
the Tree.

It affirms, in particular, that the Tree, a sentient living being and source of Life, is a common good of humanity; that Life on Earth depends upon the existence of the Tree; and that human beings, endowed with reason and conscience, must act with the Tree in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity.

Its universal character does not mean that it would produce the same immediate legal effects
everywhere.

It means that its principles can be recognized in different countries, cultures and legal
systems, while their implementation is adapted to the powers, institutions, resources and
ecological characteristics of each territory.

In Ontario, this implementation may rely upon existing municipal responsibilities relating to:

• environmental well-being and climate change;
• parks and public spaces;
• natural heritage;
• land-use planning;
• canopy protection;
• tree removal and conservation;
• green-infrastructure management;
• public participation;
• health, safety and quality of life.

These instruments are not the Declaration itself. They are the means through which a
municipality may progressively translate its principles into public action.

2. An Approach Compatible with Canada’s Constitutional Framework

Municipalities Fall Primarily Under Provincial Jurisdiction

Canada does not have a single, uniform municipal system.

Section 92(8) of the Constitution Act, 1867 assigns jurisdiction over
municipal institutions to the provinces. Ontario municipalities therefore exercise the
powers granted to them by Ontario legislation and by the other legal instruments applicable
to them.

An Ontario municipality does not possess an independent constitutional jurisdiction
comparable to that of the Parliament of Canada or the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

This does not prevent it from adopting environmental orientations, public policies, plans,
programs or by-laws within its areas of responsibility.

3. Adopting the Declaration Is Not the Same as Entering into an International Treaty

Municipal adoption of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights does not constitute the signing of an international treaty.

The Declaration establishes a common foundation.

The Fifteen Commitments provide the institutional roadmap for progressive implementation. Their adoption is full and inseparable from official adoption of the Declaration; their implementation is progressive.

Subsequent municipal decisions — policies, budgets, programs, by-laws and planning
instruments — gradually give concrete effect to this orientation.

The proposed International Convention on Tree Rights belongs to a different institutional
level. It currently exists as a proposed legal instrument but is not an international treaty
in force. A municipality adopting the Declaration therefore does not become a contracting
party to that Convention.

4. Ontario Law Grants Municipalities Broad Powers

The Municipal Act, 2001

The Municipal Act, 2001 is the principal legislative framework governing
Ontario municipalities, with certain exceptions, including the City of Toronto, which is
governed by its own statute.

The Act provides that municipal powers are to be interpreted broadly so that municipalities
can govern their affairs and respond to the needs of their communities.

It also recognizes municipal powers relating to the economic, social and environmental
well-being of the municipality, expressly including climate change.

This reference to environmental well-being and climate change is directly relevant to:

• canopy protection and expansion;
• the reduction of urban heat islands;
• stormwater management;
• resilience to extreme climatic events;
• soil conservation;
• biodiversity;
• air quality;
• public health and well-being;
• the management of trees as living infrastructure.

5. A Resolution to Adopt the Principles, By-laws to Impose Legal Obligations

The Government of Ontario explains that municipal powers are generally exercised through a
by-law or a resolution.

This distinction corresponds directly to the approach proposed by the Universal Declaration
of Tree Rights.

Adopting the Declaration therefore never exempts a municipality from following the ordinary
procedures required for the adoption of a by-law, approval of a budget, amendment of an
official plan or exercise of an administrative power.

6. The Municipal Act Directly Permits Tree Protection

Section 135 of the Municipal Act, 2001 authorizes a local municipality to
prohibit or regulate the destruction or injuring of trees.

The Act also permits municipalities to establish permit systems and impose conditions
relating to authorized activities, subject to statutory exceptions and limitations.

This provision may support measures relating to:

• the conservation of trees and woodlands;
• the regulation of certain tree-cutting activities;
• canopy protection;
• the prevention of damage to trees;
• conditions for issuing permits;
• replanting or ecological restoration where a sufficient legal basis exists.

Responsibility may, however, be divided between a lower-tier municipality and the county or
region to which it belongs.

Port Hope, for example, is a lower-tier municipality within Northumberland County, which
forms the upper municipal tier. The implementation of certain measures must therefore take
account of the division of authority between these two levels.

This territorial organization does not prevent the Port Hope Municipal Council from adopting
the Declaration as a matter of principle.

7. Land-Use Planning Also Provides Means of Action

The Ontario Planning Act is intended, among other purposes, to promote
sustainable development within a healthy natural environment.

Within the limits and procedures established by the Act, municipalities may use their
planning instruments to address:

• natural heritage;
• green spaces;
• woodlands;
• vegetation;
• landscapes;
• flood risks;
• climate adaptation;
• trees and planting associated with development projects.

Site-plan control mechanisms may also address trees, shrubs, hedges, ground cover and other
landscaping elements in situations where those powers apply.

Official plans, zoning by-laws, development-review procedures and planning conditions may
therefore contribute to the progressive implementation of several of the Commitments.

These powers must nevertheless be exercised in compliance with provincial limitations,
applicable provincial policies and the division of responsibility between different
municipal tiers.

8. Trees May Also Be Recognized as Green Infrastructure

Modern municipal management does not necessarily limit the concept of infrastructure to
roads, bridges, pipes or buildings.

Ontario regulations governing municipal asset management include green infrastructure
assets and require municipalities to consider climate-related vulnerabilities and adaptation
or mitigation opportunities affecting municipal infrastructure.

Depending upon the circumstances, trees, street trees, urban forests, woodlands, parks,
vegetated soils, wetlands and other natural elements may provide essential services:

• intercepting and infiltrating rainwater;
• reducing surface runoff;
• lowering temperatures;
• storing carbon;
• stabilizing soils;
• filtering air;
• supporting biodiversity;
• improving public health and quality of life.

9. The Fifteen Commitments: A Progressive Method Adapted to Ontario

The Fifteen Commitments of Local and Regional Authorities are not a collection of obligations
that must be fully and immediately implemented.

They constitute a common institutional roadmap structured around five complementary stages. Within the official framework, the Fifteen Commitments are adopted in full and inseparably from the Declaration; their implementation is progressive, evolving and adapted to the municipality’s lawful powers, resources and territorial circumstances.

10. Port Hope: A Concrete Example of Ontario’s Possibilities

The Municipality of Port Hope already has several policies and strategic orientations that
could provide a foundation for the progressive implementation of the Declaration.

Its Forest Master Plan includes, in particular:

• the development of a community forest and green infrastructure;
• planning for municipal urban and rural forest areas;
• recognition of the value of trees to the community;
• the inventory and management of trees situated on municipal property;
• the development and stewardship of Port Hope’s tree canopy.

Port Hope’s Community Climate Action Plan also supports the protection of
forests, wetlands, water bodies, the urban tree canopy, vegetation and green infrastructure.
It identifies the protection and enhancement of natural spaces as an important element of
climate action, biodiversity protection, public health and community resilience.

The municipality also has policies concerning the planting and protection of trees situated
on municipal property.

Its public information page states that, outside the requirements applying in certain
development contexts, a general permit is not required for the maintenance or removal of
trees on private property.

These elements demonstrate that Port Hope would not be starting from nothing.

The Declaration and the Fifteen Commitments could provide a common framework through which
existing policies could be connected, strengthened and made more coherent.

Port Hope Ultimately Endorsed Tree-Canopy Principles, Not the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights

In July 2026, Port Hope’s Committee of the Whole considered a motion concerning recognition of principles relating to the rights and protection of trees.

The Committee recommended an amended motion by four votes to three after references to the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights were removed while the core tree-protection principles were retained.

On July 21, 2026, Port Hope Council endorsed guiding principles recognizing trees as important community assets and essential green infrastructure. The Municipality’s official Council newsletter confirms that these principles are intended to inform matters including development policies, green asset management, planning regulation and public education. Port Hope did not thereby adopt the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights and is not presented as a signatory municipality.

Municipality of Port Hope — Council information and July 21, 2026 Council newsletter archive

The debate appears to have concerned not so much the need to protect trees as the question of
whether a declaration described as international constituted an appropriate instrument for a
municipality.

It means that a municipal council may adopt the Declaration and the full Fifteen Commitments within the official institutional procedure and then implement them progressively within the limits of Ontario law.

The Port Hope case therefore does not demonstrate that the Declaration is legally unsuitable
for an Ontario municipality.

On the contrary, it shows that the issue can be brought before a municipal council and that
it corresponds to responsibilities and concerns already recognized at the municipal level:
canopy cover, infrastructure, flooding, heat, health, biodiversity, planning and climate
resilience.

It also demonstrates why preliminary dialogue with the organization officially carrying the
Declaration is essential.

Such dialogue makes it possible to explain the true scope of adoption, answer legal questions
and prepare a proposed resolution compatible with local law.

11. Official Adoption Requires the Declaration to Be Named and Identified

A municipality remains entirely free to draft and adopt its own principles concerning tree
protection.

General ideas concerning the value of trees, canopy protection, biodiversity or climate
adaptation are not reserved exclusively to the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights.

However, two different approaches must be distinguished.

Canada’s Copyright Act reserves to the copyright owner, among other rights, the right to
reproduce the work or any substantial part of it.

It also recognizes the author’s right to the integrity of the work and, where reasonable in
the circumstances, the right to be associated with the work by name.

Removing the name of the Declaration while retaining its official wording cannot therefore
be regarded as a normal procedure for officially adopting it.

The legal characterization of any particular reproduction nevertheless depends upon the
exact wording used, its extent and the surrounding circumstances. It cannot be established
solely on the basis of a newspaper report.

Regardless of the intellectual-property question, wording detached from the Declaration’s title and official framework does not constitute a recognized official adoption of the Declaration.

12. Official Adoption Procedure for Ontario Municipalities

1. 1 — Mandatory Prior Contact with La Compagnie des Papillons Bleus

   Before any deliberation, resolution or signature, the municipality must contact La Compagnie des Papillons Bleus directly. This contact is the mandatory starting point of the official institutional procedure.

2. 2 — Receive the Official Texts and Institutional Procedure

   La Compagnie provides or confirms the current official versions of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights, the Fifteen Commitments of Local and Regional Authorities, the Official Framework and the documents and procedural information required for adoption.

3. 3 — Jointly Prepare Adoption with La Compagnie des Papillons Bleus

   The municipality and La Compagnie jointly prepare the institutional adoption project, including the precise identification of the texts, the proposed motion, resolution or other competent instrument, any attachments, signature arrangements and initial implementation directions. Official adoption concerns the Declaration and the Fifteen Commitments simultaneously and in full.

4. 4 — Complete Municipal, Legal and Administrative Review

   The municipal clerk, administration and legal counsel review the proposal under the Municipal Act, 2001, the Planning Act, municipal procedure rules, the division of responsibilities between lower-tier and upper-tier municipalities, and any other applicable law. The review distinguishes institutional adoption from later regulatory, planning, budgetary or enforcement measures and identifies any matters requiring a by-law, planning procedure, approval, consultation or additional legal instrument.

5. 5 — Adoption by the Competent Municipal Body

   Council or the legally competent municipal body adopts the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights and the entire Fifteen Commitments of Local and Regional Authorities in accordance with the applicable procedure. The adopted versions are precisely identified and may be attached to the municipal instrument where appropriate. The municipality then completes any public-law formalities applicable to the decision.

6. 6 — Institutional Formalization, Signature, Register and Progressive Implementation

   After adoption and completion of the applicable municipal formalities, the institutional formalization prepared in advance is completed directly with La Compagnie des Papillons Bleus. The relevant documents are signed by duly authorized representatives, the adoption is verified, the municipality may be entered in the International Register of Signatory Authorities, and a realistic timetable for progressive implementation is established.

13. A Legally Accessible and Politically Ambitious Path

14. Official Sources and Reference Texts

Universal Declaration of Tree Rights and Municipal Adoption

• 
  Understanding the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights
  
• 
  Official Framework of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights
  
• 
  Local Authorities and the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights: Principles, Procedure and Legal Scope
  
• 
  The Fifteen Commitments of Local and Regional Authorities — Official English Text
  
• 
  The Assembly of the Tree and Territorial Assemblies of the Tree — Official English Presentation
  
• 
  Resolution No. 2026-06-111 adopted by Terrasse-Vaudreuil
  

Canadian and Ontario Law

• 
  Constitution Act, 1867 — Section 92
  
• 
  Municipal Act, 2001
  
• 
  Ontario Municipal Councillor’s Guide — Exercising Municipal Powers
  
• 
  Ontario Planning Act
  
• 
  Ontario Regulation 588/17 — Asset Management Planning for Municipal Infrastructure
  
• 
  Canada’s Copyright Act — Section 3
  
• 
  Canada’s Copyright Act — Section 14.1
  

Port Hope

• 
  Port Hope Forest Master Plan
  
• 
  Port Hope Community Climate Action Plan
  
• 
  Port Hope Tree Policies and Public Information
  
• 
  Port Hope Committee of the Whole Debate — Northumberland Daily, July 16, 2026
  

Official institutional text

Issued by La Compagnie des Papillons Bleus

This article is an official institutional text of La Compagnie des Papillons Bleus, the French non-profit organization that officially carries, stewards, safeguards and develops the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights and its international institutional framework.

It is published under the authority of its President and of the author and initiator of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights.

Institutional update: August 13, 2026 — Ontario version 2.0.