Quebec is taking legal steps to terminate the agreement binding it to Mont-Sainte-Anne since 1994, our Bureau of Investigation has learned.
• Read also: Expropriating RCR would cost more than buying the mountain, says Kariane Bourassa
The Society of Outdoor Establishments of Quebec (SEPAQ) filed Wednesday in the Superior Court a notice of pre-registration of a legal action on the termination of agreements and the cancellation of registrations involving the public company and the Station Mont -Saint Anne.
This agreement had been in effect since August 1994.
Remember that Mont-Sainte-Anne has been in turmoil since a gondola crashed to the ground last December. The incident, which fortunately caused no injuries, forced the suspension of the station’s activities.
The mountain was able to partially reopen and welcome skiers again at the beginning of January, following the intervention of the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ).
Photo by Jean-Francois Racine
Faced with the many issues raised regarding the equipment at Mont-Sainte-Anne in recent years, several voices have been raised for the current operator, Resort of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) to be expropriated. The current lease binds RCR and Mont Sainte-Anne until 2093.
On Monday, Caquiste MP Kariane Bourassa said that it would cost the government more to remove Mont-Sainte-Anne from the hands of RCR than to buy the mountain.
Last Friday, the minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale, Jonatan Julien, ruled that expropriating RCR was out of the question. The company, he argued, complies with the minimal conditions imposed in the 1990s by the government of Daniel Johnson.
“I have already said it once and I will repeat it: we are not a republic of bananas”, he commented to underline the importance of respecting the contracts signed by the State.
More details will follow…
– With Daniel Langlois