Quebec City has threatened to seize two buildings belonging to Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) leader Eric Duhaime for non-payment of municipal taxes starting in 2020, our investigative bureau has found.
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According to documents we consulted, the city is claiming more than $14,000 from the PCQ leader in connection with the two buildings.
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The city of Quebec says it has defaulted on a payment of exactly $12,363.39 from 2020 for a semi-detached house owned by Eric Duhaime in the Montcalm district near Grande Allée. Duhaime purchased the property in 2018 for $600,000.
As the owner, the PCQ leader also owes $1,848.92, an unpaid sum from 2021 for a building not far from the Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement. Mr. Duhaime acquired the property in 2020 for $281,000.
Legal liability
“Municipalities have a legal obligation to collect taxes […]. “The process of selling buildings for non-payment of taxes constitutes a normal collection process in Quebec City,” explains the city’s finance department in a summary of the decision.
Amounts were still due as of August 29, indicates the Service des Finances.
If the tax accounts are not paid in the next year, the city of Quebec will become the owner of Eric Duhaime’s buildings in an “irreversible” way.
“not up to date”
When contacted Friday afternoon to ask if he wanted to comment, Eric Duhaime replied via text message: “Yes. Tenant to pay taxes. I don’t understand. Who should I contact?”
A short time later, his press attaché, Cedric Lapointe, sent us the following statement: “Mr. Duhaime informed me that he contacted his tenant as soon as he knew; He immediately went to the borough office to pay the amount due. Thanks for letting us know about this error. “
Two rental real estate experts we spoke to, who requested anonymity to avoid involvement in the election campaign, told us they had “never seen” a lease offer a tenant to pay municipal taxes.
“I don’t understand why a landlord should deduct municipal taxes from the monthly rent. It is very disadvantageous at the time of resale because the rent amount is very low,” explains one of them.
According to Cédric Lapointe, the leader of the PCQ entered into an agreement with his tenant according to which he “pays electricity, taxes and cable”.
is separated
Quebec City has also targeted more than a thousand other addresses in the same scheme because their tax bills have not been paid.
This isn’t the first time Eric Duhaime has run into problems with Quebec City as an owner. In August 2018, Radio-Canada reported that Mr. Duhaime received a notice of violation from the city “because a building belonging to him was being used as a temporary rental without the required permit”.
A notice was sent after two neighbors complained. According to Radio-Canada, the file was closed after the rental ad was removed from the Airbnb site.
– In collaboration with Philippe Langlois
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