Have you read in the newspapers that certain parties have their eyes on some private properties in the Peel Basin area, for the purpose of building a future baseball stadium for the former-future Expos? You'll no doubt have also read that Molson is selling its property on Notre-Dame Street.  In both cases there is a common element: the right of preemption of the City of Montreal.

On November 19 the municipal council passed a regulation defining the territories where the city can exercise its right of preemption, as allowed by the Loi augmentant l’autonomie et les pouvoirs de la Ville de Montréal, Métropole du Québec. The ten sectors identified include the Des Faubourgs area, which encompasses amongst others the land adjacent to the Molson Brewery, and Le Havre, in which is located the Peel Basin.

Under the terms of that right, the city can substitute itself to a potential purchaser when the owner of the property accepts an offer to purchase a building that is subject to the right of preemption.

We advise owners and potential purchasers of targeted properties to proceed with caution, for any lapse or shortcoming in procedures ensuing from the City's right of preemption might entail nothing less than cancellation of the sale, rendering it null and void.