![[On the Take]](../../photos/falcon/falco320.jpg)
Closure and Disposal
of Pinetree Line Radar Stations
Does anyone really know what happened? It is doubtful.
I have been involved with the maintenance and operation of the Pinetree Line web site since 15 January 1998. That’s a long time, in Internet years – but it doesn’t even scratch the surface when you consider that some of the Pinetree Line radar stations were operational for 30 to 35 years.
I have heard, or pieced together, the following story. Hey – at least it sounds logical, and until told otherwise, "that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it" (grin).
Engineering surveys for Pinetree Line radar station locations took place in the 1950-1951 time period. Construction soon followed. Have you ever wondered why there were only a few of the Pinetree Line radar stations constructed in "desirable" locations (Comox, Edgar, Gander, Kamloops, Lac St. Denis and Sydney)? The majority of the locations were in remote, isolated areas (Armstrong, Holberg, Moisie, Mont Apica, Parent, Senneterre, Tofino).
It is my understanding that many of these radar stations were constructed on Crown Land, or if necessary, the federal government bought the land, and construction of the radar station commenced.
It is also my understanding that, if and when the radar station was closed, the following process would be followed:
1 – The radar station would be offered for sale to federal government agencies, and if there were no takers, then
2 – The radar station would be offered for sale to provincial government agencies, and if there were no takers, then
3 – The radar station would be offered for sale to municipal government agencies, and if there were no takers, then
4 – The radar station would be offered for sale to the private sector, and if there were no takers, then
5 – The entire radar station would be razed to the ground, thereby leaving the area in the same pristine condition that existed prior to the arrival of the Pinetree Line.
Well folks – this sounds like a fair and equitable process, but how much of this proposed approach actually took place? Was the final disposition or sale of Pinetree Line radar stations "fair and above board"? As I said at the beginning of this article "Does anyone really know what happened? It is doubtful.
I have always had my doubts that fair play was used right across the board.
It appears that my suspicions have been correct if one is to accept the detail in the following book:
|
Title |
On the Take |
|
Author |
Stevie Cameron |
|
Copyright |
1994 |
|
ISBN |
0-921912-73-0 |
The book provides detail pertaining to the disposition and sale of the Pinetree Line radar stations which were located at Falconbridge, Lac St. Denis and Moisie.
You be the judge.
The following detail has been extracted from pages 283, 284 and 285 of the book "On the Take".
Lac Saint-Denis, Quebec:
Except for the fact that it was located in the Laurentians, a valuable resort area north of Montreal, the radar base at CFB Lac Saint-Denis neat Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard was very much like Falconbridge, a small, close community of families and workers who enjoyed the excellent facilities even if their homes were modest. Because of its prime location, the base was values at $8 million.
In 1986 there were three potential buyers for Lac Saint-Denis, all of whom worked with Ron Lefebvre, an aide to Stewart McInnes. But the favoured bidder, one who had been backed by Roch LaSalle while he was still a cabinet minister, was a Montreal gerontologist, Dr. M Duquette, who offered $1.1 million, jobs, and a new rehabilitation centre for the elderly. He intended to call his project Medicaville.
The only hitch for the lucky gerontologist was that while his was the winning bid, he found himself temporarily without funds. This was not an inconvenience suffered by other bidders, but the government did not let a minor problem like lack of money interfere with the proceedings. The government let Duquette have the base anyway in October 1987 and allowed him to keep it rent-free for nine months while he raised the money he needed. A tough-minded Public Works Manager in the Quebec region, Diarmid Hugh Hylands, did force him to pay $170,000 in interest for this period. Hyland’s job was to find the best buyer for each property, and he was used to having his recommendations accepted. When they weren’t, when he was forces to let Duquette have the base, he made sure he wrote a letter to McInness expressing his displeasure, and later he shared the letter with a couple of reporters.
The provincial government eventually denied Duquette permission to build a senior’s rehab centre; the province already had more than it needed. So he tried a few other things; he opened a theatre, started a music camp, and began building a hotel. But he was never around much, and none of those activities provided more than a handful of jobs for the locals. Indeed, he brought construction workers in from outside the community. After he neglected to pay his local taxes of $70,000 a year for three years, from 1986 to 1990, the municipality took him to court. The case was eventually settled out of court for a payment of $100,000. At the end of 1989 Duquette sold all the houses on the base.
Report pertaining to