Hounded in the chamber about a possible baseball stadium that could be funded with taxpayer money, François Legault tried to send Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois into the cables, accusing him of making unworthy remarks on the part of of a party leader.
• Read also: New baseball stadium in Montreal: the Legault government must pass its turn, according to the FCC
• Read also: Fitzgibbon Minister of Baseball and Expos
During an exchange at the Blue Room, the parliamentary leader of Quebec solidaire expressed fears that “the saga of stadiums paid for by public funds”, which “began with the Liberal Party and the Quebec amphitheater”, will continue with the CAQ.
It is that the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, confirmed Tuesday that he has been in discussion “for a few months” with the group of Stephen Bronfman, in order to assess the fallout associated with the possible return of a professional team baseball in Montreal, which would involve the construction of a new stadium.
Opposition parties have all rejected the idea of a private stadium that would be funded with public money, even at zero cost.
“Me, my steamer, in baseball, I like it all dressed ketchup, but no public money”, quipped Mr. Nadeau-Dubois, returning to the charge on this subject during question period.
The Prime Minister replied by repeating a tweet from the day before that he had not yet digested, in which Mr. Nadeau-Dubois said he had “flipped” when he learned that the CAQ intended to “put millions in a half a baseball team while the seniors eat mud ”.
“The leader of Quebec solidaire will have to find another subject to make separations on his Twitter accounts,” railed Mr. Legault. No, but, I mean, it’s not fit for a party leader. […] He wants to be premier of Quebec. ”
“The leader of Québec solidaire tells us that he wants to make new politics, that he wants to make it modern. I’ve never seen it, mud like that, ”he added.
As for the financing of a possible stadium, the CAQ leader said one thing and its opposite.
“There is no question of our government putting a penny from the taxpayers in this,” said Mr. Legault at first.
Asked to clarify his position, “contrary to what the leader of Quebec solidaire says, if there is ever a baseball stadium, it will not cost Quebec taxpayers a penny,” the Prime Minister later qualified.
During a press scrum, Minister Fitzgibbon spoke of the advantages of the forgivable loan model, before adding that the government is “not there” in the baseball file.
“When the government puts money into a project, it is because we think that the economic benefits will be positive, otherwise we would not do it,” he said.
The minister responsible for sport, Isabelle Charest, said for her part that the economic aspect of the project is in the hands of her colleague. “If it’s not a deficit for the taxpayers, I don’t have a problem with that,” she dropped.
To see also
.
