BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

The town of Hudson and the local branch of the Canadian Legion have struck a deal that brings to an end a long-standing dispute and two court cases.

“The agreement sets the path for a long and mutually supportive relationship for both parties, the members of the Legion and the Hudson community – past, present and future,” said Hudson Mayor Chloe Hutchison in response to questions from The 1019 Report.

The deal includes a 100-year lease, approved by Hudson council last week, that will see Legion Branch 115 pay a monthly rent to the town of $761 to occupy the space it currently operates out of – part of the community centre complex on Main Road. The rent will be increased by 2 per cent per year from 2024 to 2026, and be adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index in subsequent years.

“We are happy with it,” Legion branch president Jon Bazar said last week, adding the organization has agreed to also pay three years of back-taxes the town claims it owed.

The agreement also sees the court cases involving the two parties dropped. The litigations stem from a dispute over issues involving the deed of sale agreed to by the town in 1994, when the Legion opted to sell its building to the municipality for $1. The move gave way to the town building its community centre on the Legion site. In 2019, it was discovered that the terms of the sale were “not in accordance” with the provincial Cities and Towns Act, Bazar said.

In March 2022, the Legion sued the town of Hudson for annulling the sale of the property. That same month, according to Hudson assistant director-general Marie-Jacinthe Roberge, the town sued the Legion for unpaid taxes.

The lawsuits have cost the town about $85,000 up until June of this year, Hutchison said.

The new lease agreement approved by council last week was not approved unanimously, however. Councillors Doug Smith and Benoit Blais voted against the motion.

In an interview last week, Blais said his objection did not arise from opposition to the spirit or scope of the lease agreement, but because he felt some clauses needed to be clarified.

Blais explained he had submitted a list of questions to town officials seeking clarification, but did not receive adequate answers, adding that when signing a 100-year agreement, the time should have been taken to clarify the points he raised, including having a complete and detailed list of  the Legion’s assets.

“Finally we were able to put aside the differences between the town and the Legion,” Blais said, adding: “It’s just sad we didn’t take the extra hours to do it properly.”

In response to the criticism, Hutchison said: “I appreciate the great care taken by councillors in their review of the town’s technical documents. The request for added precision to be included in the documents had been carefully reviewed by the town’s legal staff and external lawyer. I was satisfied with the level of assiduity and quality of response by the town. It was time to move forward.

“I trust that we have a strong and clear set of documents in hand that best represent the nature of the relationship between the town and the Legion and that this will serve as a sound tool for both parties moving forward.”