No public money for a baseball stadium, assures CAQ
Premier of Quebec, François Legault
The potential return of a baseball team to Montreal will be at no cost to Quebec taxpayers, ensures the Legault administration. It remains to be seen whether this means that no financial assistance will be granted to private investors by Quebec, or whether the province intends to make it a “zero-cost” investment.
Questioned by the parliamentary leader of Quebec solidaire Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, at the Blue Room, Prime Minister François Legault assured that there was no question “that the government put a penny of taxpayers in there”.
“I would like it to be very clear that the plan is not a zero-cost stadium, therefore an investment by the Government of Quebec offset by economic benefits, but that ; there will indeed not be a single penny of public money invested in the private stadium of Stephen Bronfman “, asked the solidarity deputy.
The Prime Minister was then less sharp, indicating that if ever “there is a baseball stadium, it will not cost Quebec taxpayers a penny”. After the session in the chamber, the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, agreed, indicating that no public money would be invested in the construction of the stadium, not however excluding government aid if the fallout economic potentials were found to be “significant”.
At zero cost, really?
According to & nbsp; La Presse , the government is in talks with businessman Stephen Bronfman, who wants to build a baseball stadium at the basin Peel. A financial contribution of up to a few hundred million dollars would be requested. For several months, Quebec has been open to the idea of a contribution, but only if it is done at zero cost for Quebecers.
From this perspective, the tax sums paid by the players and the economic benefits would compensate, over the years, the sums disbursed by the State. The idea has been widely criticized by all three main opposition parties, which challenge the principle.
“I think it shows that François Legault has completely lost his sense of priorities,” said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. A zero-cost baseball stadium is like a carbon neutral third link. It is to take Quebecers for suitcases. There is no one who believes in that. “
” We take people for idiots when we say that, “added the leader of the Liberal Party, Dominique Anglade. The reality is that these investments cost taxpayers money. ”
The Liberals believe that other files are more“ priority ”than the return of a team of major baseball in Montreal. The Parti Quebecois agrees. “This is not a good way to invest public funds, when we see that the health system is in crisis, that we hesitate to give six million dollars to educators and daycare staff” , argued Parliamentary Leader Joël Arseneau.
Under a potential draft, a major league baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays, could be in joint custody between Florida and Montreal. Half of the team & rsquo; s home games could be played in the metropolis, which equates to about 40 games per year.
