Cap-Pelé says that the company it dealt with, Gestions CJMPR Holdings Ltée/Ltd., was supposed to stay trapped in the village forever, and that by turning a profit and escaping, they breached the terms of the agreement.
“They were not supposed to make any money off the deal. They’re supposed to be stuck here like the rest of us,” said Cap-Pelé’s Mayor Serge Léger.
“No one wants to live here. We get visitors to our beach in the summer, but we can’t get anyone to stay. The $1 land deal was supposed to get some poor suckers to invest here long-term.”
Other New Brunswick towns are attempting similar ploys to attract new residents and businesses. But this is the first time an investor actually made money off the scheme. The mayor said that the profiteers should at least throw some of their money back into the village.
“It’s like when you buy someone a scratch ticket for their Christmas stocking,” added Léger. “If they win big, they owe you at least half, since you got it for them. Everyone knows that! It’s kind of the unspoken rule of being a decent human being.”
Pierre LeBlanc was president of Gestions CJMPR Holdings Ltée/Ltd., which has since dissolved. But before it did, it added a couple developments. He said that Cap-Pelé, with a population of just over 2,000, is lucky that the holding company did anything at all with the land.
“Look, they got a medical clinic and a Jean Coutu pharmacy for the community, and we all know French New Brunswickers love their Jean Coutus,” said LeBlanc. “The only thing that could sweeten the deal would be if we threw in a Dixie Lee!
“I’d be willing to pay the village back a generous 500% of what I paid for it — that would be $5! But I sure as hell won’t be going back to Cap-Pelé.”