The Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ) is investigating the alleged proximity of the administration of Rivière-du-Loup with the real estate company Medway, instigator of an ambitious nine-storey construction site in the city center which is creating a stir in the locality. of Bas-Saint-Laurent.
“We are trying to find out if there has been a breach of ethics or a reprehensible act committed or about to be committed,” explains Isabelle Rivoal, spokesperson for the CMQ.
In April, a report by the cooperative media Pivot underlined, with requests for access to information in support, the connivance of certain municipal officials with the company in the development of a special urban plan (PPU) for the city center, at the place even where the building promoted by Medway is about to see the light of day.
The old development plan limited use to dwellings of a maximum of 12 units in this sector. The Medway site, called Complexe Santé Rivière-du-Loup, now provides 136 “rental condos” and commercial space totaling more than 7,400 square meters.
“This PPU was almost concocted by the City and Medway to meet the requirements of the latter, deplores Pierre Landry, president of the organization Rivière-du-Loup en éveil, strongly mobilized against the construction of the building. There were constant exchanges between the administration and the company: the City informed the promoter of everything that was happening in the city, even going so far as to share the identity of the opponents of the project and the place where they held their meeting. »
The article of Pivot alleges that the City’s director of communications also participated in highlighting the real estate development in the local media to prepare “public opinion favourably. »
A contested project
The building won the praise of part of the population of Rivière-du-Loup who defended the economic importance of the ambitious project. The real estate development also raises the discontent of its neighborhood, which deplores that its construction required the demolition of two buildings and the moving of a heritage house built in 1940.
“It makes no sense,” regrets Pierre Landry. Especially since the City once dreamed of erecting an eco-district in this same place “which would have been much more logical” in its eyes.
“We have completely disfigured a small residential area in favor of a nine-storey building and 400 parking spaces, just near the new seniors’ house which also has 150 parking lots, regrets the Louperivois. There are therefore 550 additional parking spaces on a small street, as large as Mentana Street in Montreal. »
Pierre Landry criticizes the City for having carried out “phony” consultations prior to the construction site. “It was extremely frustrating to see that the City, and therefore our employees supposedly working for us, was not at all interested in our proposals. »
The City is cooperating with the investigation
Rivière-du-Loup en éveil is delighted to see “an independent investigation” looking into the case.
“Our investigation roughly relates to the existence or not of favoritism on the part of employees or elected officials towards the company in question,” specifies Isabelle Rivoal of the CMQ. The investigation should be concluded within “a few weeks” and if it finds possible culprits, they face various penalties, ranging from a simple reprimand to suspension.
The City of Rivière-du-Loup had itself launched an investigation in the wake of the report implicating some of its officials. In a press release on Tuesday, it indicated that it would put an end to this process “in order to leave the field entirely free to the investigators” of the CMQ, to whom the City promises its “full collaboration. »
“I reiterate my full confidence in the municipal team; we can count on dedicated and competent people, insisted the mayor of Rivière-du-Loup, Mario Bastille. We want to demonstrate that all the people who have gravitated from near or far around this file have always acted in good faith. »
Medway, a Lévis company mainly active in the Quebec region, presents itself as “a manager of medical clinics and a real estate developer specializing in the field of health”. It claims more than 16 health complexes built or in the process of being built, some 170 family physicians and specialists and 137 employees.
In a similar complex developed in Saint-Nicolas, Medway offers 3 ½ apartments starting at $1,400 per month. In Rivière-du-Loup, the company’s investment amounts to $65 million.