World Anti-Doping Agency keeping headquarters in Montreal until at least 2031

OTTAWA — The World Anti-Doping Agency is keeping its headquarters in Montreal until at least 2031.

Officials in the federal Transport Department made the announcement Wednesday night.

It came after a proposal put forth to the International Olympic Committee agency in Seoul by Transport Minister Marc Garneau, Quebec International Relations Minister Christine St-Pierre and Hubert Bolduc, head of Montreal International.

The province of Quebec and the federal government are also promising to contribute a joint amount of $3 million a year to the organization over 10 years.

The Canadian Olympic Committee applauded WADA’s decision Thursday to remain in Montreal, which was first chosen as the site of WADA’s headquarters in 2001.

“We are happy to see how fruitful these negotiations have been,” the COC’s CEO and secretary general Chris Overholt said in a statement. “We will continue our commitment as WADA partners to be world leaders in the fight against doping in sport. We firmly believe that we are embarking on a new era of international sport, one anchored in clean and ethical competition.”

St-Pierre had said in an interview earlier this week that Canada’s new offer to WADA would be an improvement on the last contract agreement, but the minister wouldn’t give details.

WADA had suggested earlier this year it was considering a move from Quebec’s biggest city, but the agency reportedly changed its mind after a September meeting with Canadian officials in France.

Following that meeting, Garneau and St-Pierre said WADA would no longer receive offers from other cities but would renegotiate the current deal on the condition it be improved.

The federal and Quebec governments reportedly offered WADA generous tax incentives to settle in the Canadian city, including millions of dollars in contributions to the agency as well as income-tax exemptions for non-Canadian employees. The Montreal headquarters currently employs about 85 people.

The Canadian Press

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