Headlines from this weeks SPEC

Jan. 26, 2003

A floating casino for the Gaspe and other maritime regions of Quebec?
For Denise Verreault, it would stimulate tourism
Gilles Gagne

Denise Verreault, president of Groupe maritime Verreault, from Les Mechins, on the north shore of the Gaspe Peninsula, suggests that a casino ship would spread more equitably the spinoffs of gambling in the province of Quebec. The ship could go from one port to another, and from one region to another, while taking advantage of popular events, or creating events, says Mrs. Verreault.

Her company owns a ship, a ferry, 333 feet in length, the motor vessel Nindawayma, used on the Great Lakes by her former owner, Ontario Northland. The ship is currently laid up in the port of Montreal, a couple of years after her acquisition by the Groupe Maritime Verreault. The ship was built in 1976, but has not seen a lot of action since 1992. The car deck could easily be transformed to house the casino, according to Denise Verreault, a solution that has been evaluated by experts of her firm.

"We have the expertise, at our Les Mechins shipyard, to modify that ship. The vessel is in excellent shape. It is a Canadian ship (respecting the restrictive Canadian navigation norms) characterized by a big, empty space, the car deck. If we install a casino on that deck, we don't have to demolish and rebuild; we just build", explains Denise Verreault.

The regional convention centre project could be delayed
SGF interested in a participation
Gilles Gagne

The construction of the $9.3 million regional convention centre, supposed to be built behind the Baie Bleue Hotel and Belle Plage Manor in Carleton, could be delayed by a few months, because the Societe generale de financement is interested in becoming a partner in the venture.
Since the Spring of 2002, the project has been slowed down by a cost exceeding by $1.8 million the initial estimate of $7.5 million. In November, the QuŽbec government guaranteed that its additional contribution would be paid, even if the name of the program could not be pinpointed at that moment. At the same time, Member of Parliament for the Bonaventure-Gaspe-Magdalen Islands-Pabok riding, Georges Farrah, said that he would work as hard as he could to find the $900,000 expected from Ottawa.