After going to court last year to try to renew its lease, the only marina east of Montreal suffered a first setback before the Superior Court of Quebec, which rejected its request for backup, casting doubt on the company’s future.
Open since 1985, Marina PAT is a family business located on rue Notre-Dame Est, in the Pointe-aux-Trembles district. Its quay has a capacity of 120 boats, which moor there from May to October each year. The site is also very busy every summer and has a waiting list of boat owners who want to rent a space there during the summer season.
The marina owns its land. However, the company must lease the part of the water domain occupied by its wharf, which overlooks the St. Lawrence River. First under federal jurisdiction, this lease fell into the hands of the Quebec government in 1991 following legislative changes. The company then signed a new lease in 1992, for a maximum legal period of 25 years, after having obtained the agreement of its neighboring neighbors on whose water domain its wharf encroaches. It’s a residential landlord on one side and the City of Montreal on the other.
In 2019, the company was contacted by the Ministry of the Environment, which informed it that its lease had expired for two years. An extension of this has since been granted until December 2020, then until November 30, 2021, in order to “allow the discussions to come to fruition” and to allow time for the marina to apply for a lease renewal. , indicates Judge Michel A. Pinsonnault, of the Superior Court, in a decision posted online on January 17.
However, to do this, the marina had to once again obtain the consent of its shoreline neighbours, who are now opposed to the encroachment of its wharf on part of the water domain located in front of their land.
” It’s all or nothing “
The ministry therefore subsequently proposed to the company to renew its lease without having to obtain the agreement of neighboring residents, provided that the area occupied by the floating docks was reduced. By ceasing to encroach on the water domain located in front of its neighbours’ land, the marina would however see its reception capacity drop from 120 to 75 boats, which would threaten its profitability, according to what the Duty last August the vice-president of the company, Pierre Valois. “I risk losing everything. It would no longer be profitable for me, ”he said in an interview.
The company therefore ruled out this option and preferred to turn to the courts to try to obtain a renewal of its lease according to the criteria applied since 1992 “without any change or modification of the base and the number of boats using the marina,” reads the judgment. In short, she claims “the status quo “, Under threat of having to close its doors, we can read.
The City, for its part, has proposed allowing the company to operate the northern portion of the marina “without any reduction in area” until December 2023, the time to hold a public consultation to find a solution that would please to all parties. But the marina also rejected this proposal.
However, “the approach of” it’s all or nothing “adopted by Marina PAT is of no help to her in this case”, considers the judge of the Superior Court.
The magistrate also notes that the company waited 14 months before contesting the Quebec government’s request to sign a new lease. The owners of the marina therefore failed to convince the Superior Court that an “emergency criterion” justified its application to the courts. This therefore seems “devoid of a serious basis”, decides the Court.
“With respect, if the situation were to be considered urgent today, it is only due to the inaction or lack of diligence of Marina PAT In other words, the urgency was created by [l’entreprise] unfortunately waiting at the last minute to apply for the required safeguard orders, which she could have done earlier, ”adds the magistrate.
The judge thus rejected the request for a safeguard order for the company, which must now pay the legal costs incurred.
Between relief and disappointment
The neighbor of the marina, which has been at odds with its owners for years, welcomed this judgment with relief. “He doesn’t pay attention to his neighbours, to the environment. He doesn’t pay attention to anything,” says Daniel Raymond, who is also president of the Association des riparians du Vieux-Pointe-aux-Trembles.
“The best thing would be for the City to buy the land and turn it into a suitable marina,” he believes, while acknowledging that this would involve a significant public financial investment.
The spokesperson for the Sainte-Thérèse Island Community Association, Fannie Martin, was saddened by the judgment. “Marinas have incredible waiting lists for boaters to put boats in the water. How will they meet this demand for boaters? “, asks M.me Martin, who reminds us that Sainte-Thérèse Island is only accessible by boat. “It’s really sad, this judgment,” she sighed.
The borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles for its part indicated that it “takes note of this judgment”. The latter, however, was sparing with comments since this is an interlocutory judgment, “which does not put an end to the legal remedy”.
“The borough prefers not to make any other comments until the legal proceedings are completed,” adds a spokesperson, Karine Tougas. She adds that this marina plays “an important role in contributing to the development of the recreational tourism offer in eastern Montreal”, and that the borough therefore hopes that it can remain open, while responding to the concerns of citizens.
It is therefore currently unknown what will now happen to this marina, which has several employees. The duty tried repeatedly to contact the owners of the company for this report, to no avail.