Quebec National Assembly considering bill to outlaw court challenges in arena/NHL bid

[billy blaze]

Quebec National Assembly to consider bill that would outlaw any court challenges to deal between Quebec City and Quebecor- deal in Phoenix cited

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/chronique...1-4400167-leffet-phoenix-plane-sur-quebec.php

TRANSLATED from original French

The goal is simple: eliminate threats Belleval Denis, who plans to apply to the Superior Court to cancel the agreement. Former Transport Minister and former Director General of Quebec City, Mr. de Belleval has for several weeks, an all-out charge against the return of an NHL team in Quebec City.

"We can not conclude with our partner (Quebecor) if there are threats of court challenges and ultimately, it is absolutely, absolutely, securing the National Hockey League over everything. Gary Bettman has an extraordinary network of information and he knows everything that happens here. "

The record of the Coyotes is a nightmare for Gary Bettman. He fears that Denis Belleval surely becoming the Darcy Olsen of Quebec.

As this flat perspective, the old capital will not get a team. Never accept the NHL in Quebec City to relive an episode similar to that of Phoenix. That is why Mr. Labeaume, who understands, wants to stop Mr de Belleval or any other opponent of the project. "Our project should present no uncertainty," said the mayor.

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[OthmarAmmann]

Is that allowed?

 

[htpwn]

Is that allowed?

Anything's allowed in Quebec politics.

 

[Canuckommunist]

La belle province <3

 

[Acesolid]

Let me explain the situation from the Quebec point of view;

- A few months ago, after a screening process, the city decided to sell the exploitation rights to the new public arena that is going to be built to Québecor for a rate that is much higher then normal, almost nullifying the city's cost in the venture and making sure the construction of the arena gets done right away and is a WIN / WIN / WIN for everyone involved.

-In the following month or so everyone is happy and everything is great.

-A few weeks ago, Belleval Denis (a guy who has a vendetta against Mayor Labeaume, has Goldwater institute like values and who would like to replace the mayor in the next election), discovered that some obscure law makes it illegal for the city to sell those rights without an auction (that would have been won by Québecor anyway, since they bought the arena for much higher then the usual arena rate, especially since there might not be NHL hockey in it).

-Belleval is now trying to go to Court so the arena gets stuck in legal limbo and is never built, and the vast majority of people are really pissed at him for it.

-Now, the Provincial government that has invested in the new arena and doesn't want it's investment lost by some twerp, wants to stop him so we can build this essential arena that was a done deal 2 months ago!


So........ the situation has some similarities to the Pheonix situation, except that it's like if the Goldwater institute had stepped in to prevent the construction of the NFL's Arizona Cardinal's stadium.

 

[Shawa666]

Let me explain the situation from the Quebec point of view;

- A few months ago, after a screening process, the city decided to sell the exploitation rights to the new public arena that is going to be built to Québecor for a rate that is much higher then normal, almost nullifying the city's cost in the venture and making sure the construction of the arena gets done right away and is a WIN / WIN / WIN for everyone involved.

-In the following month or so everyone is happy and everything is great.

-A few weeks ago, Belleval Denis (a guy who has a vendetta against Mayor Labeaume, has Goldwater institute like values and who would like to replace the mayor in the next election), discovered that some obscure law makes it illegal for the city to sell those rights without an auction (that would have been won by Québecor anyway, since they bought the arena for much higher then the usual arena rate, especially since there might not be NHL hockey in it).

-Belleval is now trying to go to Court so the arena gets stuck in legal limbo and is never built, and the vast majority of people are really pissed at him for it.

-Now, the Provincial government that has invested in the new arena and doesn't want it's investment lost by some twerp, wants to stop him so we can build this essential arena that was a done deal 2 months ago!


So........ the situation has some similarities to the Pheonix situation, except that it's like if the Goldwater institute had stepped in to prevent the construction of the NFL's Arizona Cardinal's stadium.

Got the last part wrong.

The bill was introduced by the PQ, which makes it a private bill, since the PQ is in the opposition.

Since it's a private bill, L'Assemblée Nationale has to pass it unanimously.

Amir Khadir is an ****ing troll and has stated that he'll vote against.

 

[Kimota]

Got the last part wrong.

The bill was introduced by the PQ, which makes it a private bill, since the PQ is in the opposition.

Since it's a private bill, L'Assemblée Nationale has to pass it unanimously.

Amir Khadir is an ****ing troll and has stated that he'll vote against.

Khadir won't do this, it would kill his party.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

Love it - this needs to be done more often. Stop petitioning, suing, and crying, and build something to replace your 61-year-old eyesore that's being held together by duct tape, superglue, and the collective will of the city.

If we'd done this in Ottawa, we'd have a gorgeous new outdoor stadium and public park years ago, instead of hippies trying to protect heritage asphalt at all costs.

 

[Shawa666]

Khadir won't do this, it would kill his party.

It's Khadir. The guy's a professional troll.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Love it - this needs to be done more often. Stop petitioning, suing, and crying, and build something to replace your 61-year-old eyesore that's being held together by duct tape, superglue, and the collective will of the city.

If we'd done this in Ottawa, we'd have a gorgeous new outdoor stadium and public park years ago, instead of hippies trying to protect heritage asphalt at all costs.

1) The Majority of Ottawa does not support the CFL
2)Life is not about sports. There are better things to spend tax money on.

 

[obsenssive*]

1) The Majority of Ottawa does not support the CFL
2)Life is not about sports. There are better things to spend tax money on.

Love it - this needs to be done more often. Stop petitioning, suing, and crying, and build something to replace your 61-year-old eyesore that's being held together by duct tape, superglue, and the collective will of the city.

If we'd done this in Ottawa, we'd have a gorgeous new outdoor stadium and public park years ago, instead of hippies trying to protect heritage asphalt at all costs.

you non-glebeites are just jelly.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

1) The Majority of Ottawa does not support the CFL
2)Life is not about sports. There are better things to spend tax money on.

This is the problem here. It goes for my Ottawa example, and the situation in Quebec City (not to mention the situations currently unfolding in Edmonton and Winnipeg). A vocal, narrow-minded minority hijacks every stadium debate and twists it into an issue about the merits of professional sports teams and stadiums, completely ignoring the fact that such infrastructure serves a multitude of other civic functions.

An arena in Quebec City would not host professional hockey 41 nights a year and then sit dark the other 341 nights, nor would a stadium in Ottawa host football nine days a year, and collect dust the other 356.

 

[La Grosse Tendresse]

An arena in Quebec City would not host professional hockey 41 nights a year and then sit dark the other 341 nights, nor would a stadium in Ottawa host football nine days a year, and collect dust the other 356.

But the deal with Quebecor which was giving to them without a competitive bid process has nothing to do with building the arena. What is being alleged is not that the arena shouldn't be built, but that any company should be allowed to bid on the management contract of the arena.

Basically, the government wants carte blanche to be able to hand out contracts to its buddies without ever having to go through a competitve bidding process, which is absolutely ludicrous.

This isn't about an arena, this is about the government handing out contracts without having any transparency and without making sure it's the best deal for the taxpayers.

People are going crazy about collusion and favortism in the construction industry, yet they see no problem with the government handing over a contract worth hundreds of millions to Quebecor, because they really really really want an arena...

 

[barneyg]

-A few weeks ago, Belleval Denis (a guy who has a vendetta against Mayor Labeaume, has Goldwater institute like values and who would like to replace the mayor in the next election), discovered that some obscure law makes it illegal for the city to sell those rights without an auction (that would have been won by Québecor anyway, since they bought the arena for much higher then the usual arena rate, especially since there might not be NHL hockey in it).

You've got the timeline right but the bolded part is biased and wrong. Anyone with half a brain (including Labeaume) knows this should have been through an open bid. The reason it didn't is the same reason why minority mayors of the Quebec metro area are currently asking for info and are not getting it -- it's Labeaume's governing style. There's a difference between acting swiftly to get things done and disregarding ethics and public interest for the sake of getting one's ideas past.

 

[CorbeauNoir]

An arena in Quebec City would not host professional hockey 41 nights a year and then sit dark the other 341 nights, nor would a stadium in Ottawa host football nine days a year, and collect dust the other 356.

Stadiums are tricky for infrastructural usefulness - especially open-air ones in places with winter climates. They don't necessarily collect dust 356 days of the year, but it's not like you have strings of U2 concerts filling up all those vacant dates either, even when it isn't 10-20 below outside. They're cheaper to build but there's no getting around the fact that the vast majority of the year stadiums simply aren't being used.

 

[Killion]

So between de Belleval & Khadir we have a problem?. I dont think so. Monsieur' does not have the financial resources to push this train up-track nor the peoples will, his agenda is obvious; Khadir will be drowned by the National Assembly. Next?....

 

[Shawa666]

So between de Belleval & Khadir we have a problem?. I dont think so. Monsieur' does not have the financial resources to push this train up-track nor the peoples will, his agenda is obvious; Khadir will be drowned by the National Assembly. Next?....

Khadir is a problem. The bill has to be voted in unnanimously to pass, It's a private bill. And there's no way Khadir will ever vote for a bill like this. He's a as close as you get to be a commie in Quebec politics.

De Belleval alone is not a threat. But he might get support from whom were Jean-Paul L'Allier's supporters.

For those not in the know, Jean-Paul L'Allier was the mayor of Québec when the Nordiques left. that guy hated sports. Instead he built the Palais Montcalm, a concert hall that's not that used.

 

[Killion]

Instead he built the Palais Montcalm, a concert hall that's not that used.

I have used this venue Shawa. Its bad but not so bad as to being insurmountably bad. Always considered it an honor to perform in QC as does anyone with knowledge & enlightened thought processes. Damn shame about Carl & Bonnie Lindros huh?.

 

[Shawa666]

I have used this venue Shawa. Its bad but not so bad as to being insurmountably bad. Always considered it an honor to perform in QC as does anyone with knowledge & enlightened thought processes. Damn shame about Carl & Bonnie Lindros huh?.

I've never been at the Palais, so I can't tell. All I know is that it went over budget by 200% and that it's seldom used.Personally, My favorite concert hall is the Capitole, right across the street from the PM.

That said, I'm glad you liked the way we greet our performers. and Bonnie Lindros can rot in hell for all I care.

 

[Matrix78]

Quebecor in talks with NHL, says Labeaume

Quebecor in talks with NHL, says Labeaume
By Kevin Dougherty, The Gazette

QUEBEC — Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor Inc., is talking to the National Hockey League about the possibility of bringing NHL hockey back to Quebec City, the city’s mayor, Régis Labeaume, revealed Thursday.

Labeaume let slip the news that Péladeau was in contact with the NHL at in impromptu scrum after an 11th-hour meeting with Amir Khadir, the only Québec solidaire member of the Quebec National Assembly.
Emerging from the 90-minute meeting, Khadir said Labeaume had convinced him to at least consider a bill to give immunity from legal challenges to an agreement between Quebecor and the city.

“I am a democrat,” Khadir said, but he warned that he could still torpedo the deal if he judges it not in the interests of Quebecers.
“I offer my collaboration with Mr. Labeaume so that we can do all that is possible to have a (professional hockey) team in Quebec City,” he added.

The immunity bill Labeaume wants passed requires unanimous consent of the assembly

[...]

 

[Hugh Mann*]

Here's a better idea: make Quebecor or whoever pay for their own arena. Use public funds to improve schools and hospitals.

 

[Kimota]

But the deal with Quebecor which was giving to them without a competitive bid process has nothing to do with building the arena. What is being alleged is not that the arena shouldn't be built, but that any company should be allowed to bid on the management contract of the arena.

Basically, the government wants carte blanche to be able to hand out contracts to its buddies without ever having to go through a competitve bidding process, which is absolutely ludicrous.

This isn't about an arena, this is about the government handing out contracts without having any transparency and without making sure it's the best deal for the taxpayers.

People are going crazy about collusion and favortism in the construction industry, yet they see no problem with the government handing over a contract worth hundreds of millions to Quebecor, because they really really really want an arena...

Yea but without Quebecor pushing for a new hockey team and wanting to invest, there wouldn't have been a deal in place to build an arena. It's that simple. Quebecor was hand-in-hand with Quebec mayor through all this. I've seen no company stepping up to offer anything, to bring back a hockey team...no one. PKP of Quebecor was the guy showing up on every forums saying he wanted to bring back hockey. He was the one talking to the NHL and discussing with them for quite some time. So after all this, after Quebecor gave confidence to the goverments to go ahead and do this, you think the Mayor would have turned around and make a deal with someone else and stabbing Quebecor in the back? It makes no sense.

If anything Bellevale Denis seems to be a guy working for someone that wants to screw Quebecor. Possibly Bell.

 

[PeteWorrell]

Some people are so obsessed with the new arena that they don't care that they are paying 400 million out of their own pockets for a millionaire and his buddies to come in and reap the profits.

This type of law is something you would see in some heavily corrupt banana republic.

 

[Hugh Mann*]

I have a question: if Quebec City really is a viable market for a National Hockey League franchise, then why is no group willing or able to make the investment necessary to bring a team there without massive public subsidy? If it really were an NHL market, then Quebecor wouldn't need to loot the public treasury and take advantage of useful idiots in the electorate in order to make it happen. That they cannot or will not shows that Quebec City is not a viable market.

 

[YogiCanucks]

Some people are so obsessed with the new arena that they don't care that they are paying 400 million out of their own pockets for a millionaire and his buddies to come in and reap the profits.

This type of law is something you would see in some heavily corrupt banana republic.

PPP's are common place these days. Don't act so surprised.