Quebec town introduces tax for treeless yards—David Wees comments

A small town in Quebec's Montérégie region is trying a novel approach to help mitigate the impacts of climate change and accelerate the greening of the community, reports CBC News. 

As of 2025, homeowners in Saint-Amable, Que., roughly 40 kilometres east of Montreal, are being charged an annual surtax of $200 if they don't have at least one leafy, deciduous tree in their front yard.

McGill Plant Science Faculty Lecturer David Wees talked to CBC about how this approach could make a difference in encouraging people to plant more trees on their properties in Saint-Amable, a new suburb trying to double its canopy coverage in order to combat the heat island effect.