Several citizens spoke during the question period at the end of the municipal council meeting of the City of Rimouski, Monday evening, to express their frustration at seeing that public money had been swallowed up in the Novarium epic. Some have even called for the dissolution of SOPER in order to start afresh with a new economic development organization.
For more than an hour, all the questions and comments focused on the bankruptcy of Novarium and the municipal commission report unveiled last Friday (1is November).
If some have doubts about the fact that the board of directors was not aware of Novarium’s financial difficulties before October 2023, the former Rimouski municipal councilor, Gilles Thériault, clearly told Mayor Guy Caron, who is also president of the board of directors of SOPER, which he did not believe.
Pierre-Paul D’Anjou was the first citizen to speak.
“People don’t understand how it is possible that the administrators were not aware. I have been in several organizations and I had to report regularly to the municipal council. Have you been given bad information,” he said.
End it quickly
“I don’t believe a word you say. This situation could have been avoided if the board of directors had been competent. When the rules are not followed, there is always a corrective action. I ask you to complete this file as quickly as possible,” said Mr. Thériault.
Another former councilor for the City of Rimouski, Pierre Chassé, agrees. He believes that maintaining SOPER is no longer possible.
“Current governance is lacking. We must dissolve SOPER and start again with a new structure which will be less closely linked to the City and the MRC. Currently, the mayor of Rimouski is president, the prefect is vice-president and councilor Rodrigue Joncas is secretary,” he mentioned.
Too much latitude for the general manager
Guy Caron began serving on the board of directors of SOPER following his election as mayor of Rimouski in November 2021.
“SOPER generated a surplus in 2022. We did not have all the information, particularly regarding Novarium. There was never any question of SOPER financing Novarium. The municipal commission report mentions that the board of directors gave too much power to the general manager. Resolutions that were too vague gave him too much latitude. As soon as we had doubts about possible wrongdoing, the City and the MRC requested an investigation by the municipal commission. Actions were taken quickly and governance rules were tightened.”
Four options for the Novarium building
In addition to a shortfall of $1.5 million, Novarium leaves SOPER with a rental lease from the Tanguay Group with a loss of $30,000 per month.
“We will have to meet the Tanguay Group. We have four options: try to sublet the premises, buy back the lease with the penalties, buy the building or put SOPER into bankruptcy,” indicates Guy Caron.
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