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The City of Montreal is one step closer to retaining the headquarters of the anti-doping agency WADA after the organization's executive committee opted against opening a bidding process for a new host city once Montreal's contract expires in 2021.Christinne Muschi/Reuters

The headquarters of the World Anti-Doping Agency is one step closer to staying in Montreal after negotiations in Paris last weekend.

Speaking to The Globe and Mail from Paris, senior Montreal cabinet minister Marc Garneau said the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has agreed to renegotiate its current deal with Montreal to keep the organization's head office in the city. Mr. Garneau said WADA's 12-member executive committee decided on Sunday not to hold a bidding process for a new host city after its deal with Montreal ends in 2021. However, there's no guarantee for Montreal yet, as the final decision on whether to keep WADA's headquarters in the city will be made by the 38-member WADA foundation board in Seoul this November.

"One of the options that had been considered was to do an open tender to allow other countries, other cities to make a pitch, and that has been taken off the table. So it's now between the executive committee and Montreal, so that's good news from our point of view," said Mr. Garneau on Sunday.

Canada is pushing for another 10-year agreement to keep WADA in Montreal until 2031, but there are some concerns that committee members with Olympic ties want to move it to Switzerland, where the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is based, or somewhere else in Western Europe. Opponents of this move argue that WADA should be kept out of Europe in order to preserve its independence as the IOC battles accusations of corruption.

Mr. Garneau said he doesn't know who wants to move WADA headquarters, adding that he used his pitch opportunity on Sunday to sell Montreal as the most appropriate location.

"I was essentially saying the agency has worked extremely well in Montreal for the past 16 years. It has a very high reputation in terms of the work that it does on anti-doping, that Canada has been a strong champion of the anti-doping movement," Mr. Garneau said.

"Montreal is a great place to have the agency because it is at arm's length from the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland and this is a good thing because of the nature of the work that it is doing."

Mr. Garneau was joined in Paris by Quebec International Relations Minister Christine St-Pierre and Hubert Bolduc, president and CEO of Montreal International, an economic-development agency that seeks to attract and retain foreign investment in the city. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre also addressed WADA's executive committee via video.

As a part of their pitch to keep WADA in Montreal, Mr. Bolduc said Canadian officials are promoting access to the Montreal International Development Fund, which helps organizations such as WADA set up or expand in the city. The federal, provincial and municipal governments provide equal funding to the program.

"We know WADA is planning to expand and through that program we can fund their expansion," Mr. Bolduc said.

He said officials are also touting Canada's new Global Skills Strategy, which processes work permit applications for high-skilled workers and their dependents within two weeks. The program, launched by the Liberal government in June, also fast tracks temporary resident visa applications for high-skilled workers when necessary. Organizations such as WADA can benefit from the program as they look to hire expats.

These offerings come in addition to benefits the agency and its employees already enjoy in Montreal. For instance, expat WADA employees have an special exemption from provincial and federal tax, have access to health care and pay Quebec tuition rates if they or their family members enroll in postsecondary education.

Mr. Bolduc also pointed out that WADA as an agency does not pay municipal taxes and is governed by Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which ensures athletes' privacy is safeguarded.

The agency was established in 1999 and is involved in scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capabilities and monitoring the World Anti-Doping Code, which harmonizes the policies of all sports and countries, according to its website. It currently employs 85 people in Montreal.

With a report from Laura Stone.

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