Société immobilière GP is contesting the tax imposed by the City of Rimouski on unoccupied commercial buildings in the extended downtown area. A first hearing took place on June 3 in Superior Court at the Rimouski courthouse and the hearing will continue this Tuesday, July 2.
GP, which owns the former agricultural school located on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Street in Rimouski, has in fact filed an appeal for judicial review before the Superior Court of Quebec against the City of Rimouski.
An appeal for judicial review allows a decision or order made by an administrative body to be reviewed to verify whether it was fair, reasonable and in accordance with the law.
Amended request
In the application amended on May 24, of which the Journal Le Soir.ca obtained a copy, Me Karine Dionne, of the Stein Monast firm, asks the Court to cancel the City’s by-law and to declare the imposition of a tax on unoccupied buildings not applicable to the former agricultural school, a building described by the City as a “serviced vacant lot” for municipal taxation.
“We will start by looking at the appeal. That is why we need lawyers. We want to make sure that we have the resources to be able to defend the regulation and of course this tax that we believe in,” commented Rimouski Mayor Guy Caron, when he appointed a law firm.
Legal Regulations
For the municipal administration, it is a perfectly legal regulation and “we will take the means to defend it.”
“We believe that this regulation is legitimate in the objective that we want to achieve. It is clear that if elements are contested, we will defend the legitimacy of this regulation. This is why we have retained the services of a law firm specializing in municipal regulations,” continued Mr. Caron before the case was brought to court.
Since the hearing on June 3, the two parties have not commented on the case since it has now been referred to the courts.
Additional tax of $65,000 for GP
According to the legal appeal request obtained by Le Journal Le Soir.ca, Société immobilière GP will have to pay an additional tax of $65,000 per year starting January 18, 2025 under the City’s by-law.
