The first phase involved many amalgamations from late 2000 until 2003, undertaken by the Parti Québécois government of Québec, headed by Premier Lucien Bouchard and his successor Bernard Landry.
Municipal amalgamations had been encouraged by the Quebec government on the grounds they would result in greater efficiencies and cost savings; critics disputed this.
Contrary to what was promised by Charest (full de-amalgamation), Bill 9 only restored specific powers to the demerged cities (e.g., animal control, garbage pickup, local street maintenance, some cultural facilities).
The "bigger" expenses (e.g., police, fire, main streets, expansion programs) and the majority of the taxes remained in the hands of urban agglomerations, which are controlled by the central merged city because their larger populations give them greater voting weight.
This consulting process about Bill 9 required 10% of voters residing within an amalgamated municipality to sign a petition to demand the holding of a referendum on de-amalgamation.