Sherbrooke's bid to host Francophonie Games ranked higher than New Brunswick's
Sherbrooke withdrew candidacy in 2016 after finding out international group was recommending New Brunswick
A confidential document obtained by Radio-Canada reveals an assessment of the bids to host the 2021 Francophonie Games gave top points to Sherbrooke, Que.
Yet, Moncton-Dieppe won the bid to host the Games — the largest sports and cultural event in the French-speaking world — and governments are now stuck with a bill more than $100 million over what they signed up for.
The document, titled "technical evaluation report of the candidacies," prepared by the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) after officials came to visit the host cities in November 2015, said the three candidacies were "excellent" but that Sherbrooke came in first, according to criteria set out by the organization.
Guadeloupe, Quebec and New Brunswick all made bids to host the Games.
Sherbrooke withdrew its bid in March 2016, after learning the international committee was recommending New Brunswick ahead of Quebec. Quebec's international relations minister, Christine St-Pierre, said they would respect the committee's recommendation, though the city was disappointed.
It was announced in April 2016 New Brunswick would host the Games.
Little to say from people involved
The assessment looked at criteria that included the host cities' vision for the games, their infrastructure and financing. It ranked the candidates out of a score of 1,000.
Sherbrooke ended up with 946 points, Moncton-Dieppe with 938 and Guadeloupe with 813.
New Brunswick scored higher than Sherbrooke in only three categories, including budget and financing.
The bid figure that got them top marks is the one they copied from the international organizers' framework, and that ballooned to seven times the cost after a business plan was put together.
Reached by phone Friday, the OIF said the document was confidential and refused all comment.
The organizing committee didn't reply to a request for comment Friday on the content of the document.
Instead, a frequently asked questions section went up on its website Friday, where organizers say they are reassessing the estimate for the Games.
"The committee understands the concerns about the costs, and is committed to working with federal, provincial and municipal partners to explore all options," it said.
Meanwhile, the province said Friday the Higgs government will make a decision within a month whether it is pulling the plug on the Games.
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With files from Michel Corriveau