[À VOIR] «Honte à vous!»: Jean-François Simard s’emporte contre le Parti Québécois au salon Rouge

The minister responsible for the national capital, Jean-François Simard, spoke out Thursday at the Salon Rouge, attacking the Parti Québécois, which criticizes the CAQ for making the Mont-Sainte-Anne issue another failure in the tradition of Northvolt and the Flying Whales.

• Also read: No agreement has yet been reached on the Mont-Sainte-Anne case.

“Shame on the rest of you,” said the Montmorency MP, making his first prominent appearance in the chamber since his appointment as minister responsible for the Capital-National region last month.

Jean-Talon MP Pascal Paradis asked whether Mr. Simard, like his predecessors, would be willing to make “a $50 million gift to Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR), a foreign company that has neglected Mont-Sainte-Anne for 20 years.”

Under an agreement reached a year ago, half of the $50 million investment committed by the government and Investissement Québec could be forgiven, meaning it could be converted into a forgivable loan under certain conditions.

“The announcement was made almost a year ago. Nothing has happened since then,” complained Mr. Paradis. During this time, the people of Quebec have mobilized. There are people who want to take back Mont Sainte-Anne and make it prosperous again.”

The minister is angry

Minister Simard did not intend to retreat at all, but gave a fiery response to his colleague from the PQ.

“There is a limit to the desire to turn good news into bad,” Mr. Simard countered.

“I have heard from an opposition critic that he is against the development of our mountain,” the minister continued, recalling that RCR had pledged to invest $50 million in its facilities on the mountain in return.

“We've been waiting for this decision for at least 20 years. We got it, and it's thanks to the Quebec government and the leadership of the prime minister,” Mr. Simard said.

“The fun still has limits,” retorted Pascal Paradis, before Minister Simard added another layer.

“We have just reached a historic peak in the annals of the National Assembly of Quebec. Now the critic who is supposed to help us in the development of Quebec is against Mont-Sainte-Anne and against the people of Côte de Beaupré,” the minister responsible for the national capital was indignant.

“This is proof that the Parti Québécois, which claims to be the party of the regions, is completely out of touch with the regions of Quebec and especially with the national capital,” thundered Mr. Simard, before laughing at the surprised looks of his colleagues in the room.

Another term

In fact, the Mont-Sainte-Anne case is still stagnant, while Sépaq requested another legal deadline in September 2025 to continue negotiations with the operator RCR.

Both sides initially asked the court to suspend the case for a period of four months, until August 17. The second term expires on December 19.

Sepak says he plans to reach an agreement with RCR this fall “to end the litigation and resolve the renewal of land ownership in the eastern sector.”

The Government of Quebec announced on December 17, 2024 an investment of $100 million to upgrade mining infrastructure, including $50 million allocated to the RCR.

This announcement was made before the completion of the necessary steps between Sépaq and RCR to close the dispute between them. So the $100 million deal is still in the works.

The agreement in question remains confidential and a request for access has been filed with the court.

Sepak explains that, like last spring, “work continues to progress well.”

– With the collaboration of Jean-François Racine