A difficult situation for Sherbrooke

Ms Anderson launched her petition on March 28, 2023 after learning of the intentions of the owner, who wanted to open a third establishment in Sherbrooke after opening one of the country's largest Burger King restaurants on King Street East.

Through its actions, it hoped to prevent the planned opening of a Burger King restaurant in the Lennoxville neighborhood, citing factors such as the amount of fast food in the area, lack of access to healthy foods and the environmental impacts of the type. From the founding.

The citizen first presented her petition with 200 signatories to the Lennoxville Borough Council last year. However, the process resumed at the end of February when the owner officially applied for a building permit.

Back, this time in front of elected officials in Sherbrooke A petition signed by more than 560 people, Ms. Anderson asked the city and town of Lennoxville to “consider broader economic and business development strategies that promote short circuits and healthy, sustainable food.” It also requires the owner to withdraw the building permit or change the route by opening another type of restaurant on his land.

In his view, the city of Sherbrooke has the authority to act because of a March 2022 Supreme Court of Canada decision allowing municipalities to limit fast food in residential neighborhoods or near schools.

Few options on the table

Even if municipal council member Claude Charron emphasizes the cohesion and movement of citizenship, he emphasizes that the city's hands are tied since the owner indicated his intention when purchasing the land.

“The owner announced that he supports [un Burger King]. For the rest of us, making a rule change after he announced this would be a bit discriminatory. It puts us in a legal position [difficile]”.

The advisor gives the example of a citizen who buys land with the intention of building a house. According to him, it would be difficult to change the regulations after the fact, thus preventing him from moving forward with his project.

Municipal Council President Daniel Berthold had the same opinion. “What we need to understand about this […], is that he has the right to build. “He's on his own turf.”

Both elected officials have indicated they are open to a conversation with Ms. Anderson, but they do not expect the city to move on the issue.