The National Assembly filed its case against Quebecor for “illegal occupation” of its premises in the press gallery.
“Following months of unsuccessful discussions and negotiations with Quebecor Media Inc. (QMI), and non-payment for occupying premises in the André-Laurentue building, the National Assembly of Quebec is forced to go to court to enforce its rights and collect the rent owed to him. »
Quebecor no longer pays rent to its journalists who are members of the Press Tribune for ten months. The parliamentary administration is trying to recover the debt accumulated by the telecom and media company, which reached $61,594 last February. Pres Received.
Behind Parliament, the André-Laurentue building houses 52 accredited information workers, including a dozen Quebec Journalof Montreal Journal and the TVA television network. However, Quebecor, the owner of these media outlets, stopped paying rent for the offices they occupy in August 2023 due to the “severe crisis” caused by the Internet giants, which monopolize “more than 80% of advertising revenue.”
In its press release on Monday, the National Assembly affirmed that the situation “creates inequality compared to other media occupying the premises in the National Assembly”.
A broken deal
As suggested by the company, it did not honor the agreement reached with Quebecor as part of negotiations to reduce the space occupied by its journalists and repay the amount owed.
“Since then, QMI has been occupying the premises without rights and has neglected to pay dues and complete the lease,” affirms the National Assembly.
According to his media statement after the closure of the courts, Pres Filed case could not be taken in hand. So we don’t know if it’s necessary to evict Quebecor journalists as tenants.
In formal notice that Pres Received, the National Assembly demanded payment from Quebecor before February 29.
“This dispute refers to the National Assembly’s use of the premises occupied by QMI and does not in any way prevent journalists from accessing parliamentary proceedings,” the press release said on Monday. It is the press gallery of the Parliament of Quebec, a body independent of the National Assembly, which recommends the authorization of a person so that they can benefit from authorized or reserved access for journalists. »
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- $8448
- Monthly rent paid by Quebecor to its journalists who are members of the Press Tribune until August 2023
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