(Quebec) Days after another incident involving the Mont-Sainte-Anne gondola, opinion is divided on the plan to revive the mountain. The mayor of Beaupré is urging Quebec to agree on a reinvestment plan with Alberta’s manager Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR) as soon as possible, while a citizen group is asking the government to halt its funding.
The mayor of the small community that’s home to the majestic mountain — which netizens have renamed “Mont-Sainte-Panne” — sees Québec State’s help as the solution.
“The government seems to be slow to invest in Mont-Sainte-Anne, I don’t know why,” says Pierre Renaud in an interview. Investments with the massif [de Charlevoix] are always important, fast. Le Massif benefits greatly from government ear, which seems less the case for Resorts of the Canadian Rockies. »
Last weekend an empty gondola lifted off the cable before crashing to the ground. This is the third major incident on The Shooting Star in less than four years. Installed in 1989, this elevator is the oldest eight-seat gondola in Canada.
On Tuesday, the station was still closed except for the school slopes. Mont-Sainte-Anne is “working on a reopening plan”. The nacelle, which has been unusable for many months in recent seasons, will be closed indefinitely.
The repeated problems on the mountain have sparked discussions about the manager’s ability to look after this “gem” for years. Resorts of the Canadian Rockies is owned by Alberta billionaire Norman Murray Edwards.
But now Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon confirmed on Monday that a financing agreement with RCR is being examined. The 100 million plan would be half funded, ie 50 million by Quebec. The proposal has been in government hands for months.
“It’s up to the government to act on this file,” said the mayor of Beaupré, who says he still has faith in RCR.
I don’t think they want to let go of the mountain, it’s a gem. Demonizing CPR is not the right approach in my opinion. Let’s stop demonizing, roll up our sleeves and try to find a solution.
Pierre Renaud, Mayor of Beaupre
The Mayor intends to ask his MRC to take a position on the matter. He also wants to discuss with Capitale-Nationale Minister Jonatan Julien what he sees as an imbalance in the public support being offered to the two main resorts in the region, namely Mont-Sainte-Anne and the Massif de Charlevoix. .
promote negligence?
The group of friends of Mont-Sainte-Anne sees it differently. According to him, financing the mountain at this point would amount to “inciting negligence”.
“We tell the government: you no longer discuss with RCR. When you negotiate, it’s not about reinvestment, it’s about a change of manager, ”launches Friends president Yvon Charest in an interview.
According to the former Industrial Alliance big boss, the Mont-Sainte-Anne government must refuse subsidies as long as the manager is RCR. Mr Charest believes such a position would force the manager to sell the mountain.
He recalls that last October, Groupe Le Massif publicly confirmed that it had made a formal offer to RCR to acquire Mont-Sainte-Anne.
“The state has the whole situation under control: all you have to do is say: ‘It’s over, my friend, you don’t have a penny more in subsidies. Yvon Charest believes that it is clear that he will not invest in the mountain again without a subsidy. But you say to him, “There’s good news, there’s another group that made you an offer, so take a second look.”
RCR had indeed closed the door on Groupe Le Massif’s offer. Minister Fitzgibbon’s office has pointed out that “expropriation is not a government-envisaged solution”.
Third incident in four years
The weekend’s incident is the third in four years at The Shooting Star. In 2020, a sudden stop caused 21 injuries.
“One man was literally thrown out of the cabin. He hung upside down. We tried to hold him back. He managed to get back into the cabin. I think he just got away that day,” recalled skier Jacques Hardy, who starred in The Shooting Star that day.
RCR concluded that the incident was caused by a “voltage surge in the power supply” from Hydro-Quebec.
The gondola reopened on the 1stah March 2020 to March 11 after a similar incident but no one was injured. After that it was closed for a year.
RCR had invested 1.5 million in the gondola in August 2021. It reopened in December and then ran without major incident for the past season.
The Régie du Bâtiment du Québec could not say how long it might remain closed this time. The shooting star is particularly sensitive at Mont-Sainte-Anne because it offers the best access to the entire southern slope.
“I went back there after the 2020 incident,” notes Jacques Hardy. There I find at the end of the week that it’s a bit like a straw that broke the camel’s back. As we were being thrown around the cabin, we said to ourselves, are we going to fall? There it fell. I’m considering it for this year. »
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