In a letter sent to the Friends of Mont Sainte-Anne Thursday evening, the president of the organization, Yvon Charest, immediately indicates that the “favorable” option is that “the government proceeds with the retrocession of the rights granted to RCR for that the revitalization of the mountain [soit faite] under the management of another company.
However, if the agreement mentioned in the pages of the Charlevoisian last September turns out, the Friends repeat that the owner must inject amounts “higher than the public funds promised […] from the first years of the agreement.
“It is certainly legitimate to expect that the expected share of RCR will be equal to or greater than the 120 million in private investments to which the Compagnie des montagne du Québec and its Quebec partners were firmly committed, and this, excluding investments linked to real estate development,” explains the president of the Friends.
The possible agreement should also include “obligations of results” and guarantee “well-maintained quality lifts” so that “the safety of users and tourists” is ensured.
“Given the past, we remain skeptical about RCR’s willingness to agree to all these basic conditions, but Friends will continue to act constructively and the ball will then be in the company’s court to demonstrate its good faith and ambition.”
— Yvon Charest, president of the Friends of Mont Sainte-Anne
The Friends of Mont Sainte-Anne also demand that the Quebec government give itself the possibility of “terminating the contract without contest if RCR is in default of the agreed guidelines”.
“Our message remains the same: the impasse at the MSA is unacceptable. In terms of quality of services and safety for users. In terms of regional economic development. In terms of Quebec’s reputation,” underlines Mr. Charest.
The president also hopes that the government will force RCR to involve the community in future investments, among other things in the management of the Eastern sector coveted by SÉPAQ, which is currently being challenged by RCR in court.
Above all, the Friends of Mont Sainte-Anne believe that the government must act quickly and reveal the option ultimately chosen, in order to restore confidence among mountain users.
“The ball is in the government’s court. As much as the current dead end is undeniable, the wait-and-see approach is becoming downright dangerous given, in particular, the risks to the safety of mountain users due to the obsolescence of the infrastructure,” concludes Mr. Charest.
