Quebec oppositions bombard the “Spending Kings”

Photo: Patrice Bergeron The Canadian Press The interim leader of the Liberal troops, Marc Tanguay, began the day by brandishing the “King of deficits” jersey that he intends to give to Prime Minister François Legault.

Sébastien Tanguay in Quebec City

Published at 12:16 p.m. Updated at 4:11 p.m.

• Quebec

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The Los Angeles Kings’ visit to Quebec City brought together opposites on Thursday, as the Liberals and Conservatives took turns criticizing what they see as a “huge waste of public money” by the “Spending Kings.”

Finance Minister Eric Girard dreamed of a hockey celebration – and the opposition in the National Assembly had a field day trying to defeat the government.

The interim leader of the Liberal troops, Marc Tanguay, began the day by brandishing the “Deficit King” jersey, which he intends to give to Premier François Legault. The latter will bear the number “11 billion” in honor of the record deficit that his government presented in the last budget.

“We have to give Caesar what is Caesar's,” Mr. Tanguay quipped. “You see, he has the “C”: he's the captain, he's the one at the head of all this.”

Simultaneous protests

At noon, two demonstrations were held to denounce the $5 to $7 million public subsidy granted to the Los Angeles Kings for their stay in Quebec City.

At the foot of the Videotron Centre, the leader of the Quebec Conservatives, Éric Duhaime, denounced a “scandalous” subsidy at a time when “Quebecers are struggling economically.”

“Minister Girard should have had the courage to cancel this subsidy, to cancel this waste of public funds,” criticized Mr. Duhaime in front of supporters who came to chant their love of sports as much as their disagreement with the millions disbursed by the government. “The taxes and duties hard earned by Quebecers should never be used for the whims of an incompetent and spendthrift minister.” »

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A few kilometres away, the solidarity workers were taking part at the same time in the procession organised by the Coalition Main Rouge, a group of community organisations that came to express their frustration with a government that is funding professional hockey at a time when social crises are piling up, fuelling and worsening in Quebec.

Housing crisis, homelessness, public transit, climate; lack of daycare spaces, three-tier schools, feminicides, unfair tax system, excessive centralisation of public services: the list of their grievances was long, a sign that the Kings’ arrival is now serving as an outlet for the overflow that has been simmering for a long time within the community.

“Let’s stop giving millions to millionaires,” demanded Jean-Lesage MNA Sol Zanetti. Let’s give millions where it really counts, in the social fabric, in community organizations that take care of people in distress.”

“Five to seven million, that would change the situation”

The money given to the Kings and the Gestev company to organize the team’s visit to Quebec represents a pittance in the government budget, but could make a world of difference for organizations that are struggling from one funding source to another.

“Five to seven million is literally dozens of housing committees that could be funded for years in Quebec,” says Félix Marois, a community organizer at the Bureau d’animation et d’information logement de Québec. “It would completely change the situation because right now, our situation is getting worse: our funding isn’t even indexed, so we’re getting poorer every year.”

“Disinvestment in the social safety net is a direct attack on women’s autonomy,” adds Amy Magowan Greene, head of mobilizations and communications at the Table de concertation des groupes de femmes de Lanaudière. “The lack of spaces in daycares, the lack of social housing, the contempt of the Minister of Housing who says that shelters for women victims of violence cost too much, the reform concerning the IVAC, the reform of social assistance: all of this clearly expresses contempt for women by the government in power.”

France Simard, executive director of the Mouvement Action-Chômage Lac-Saint-Jean, denounces a government that seems increasingly locked in an “ivory tower.”

“He makes his policies without caring about the people,” she criticizes. “People are getting hungrier and hungrier, ending up more and more on the streets because they have no housing, they have no work, they have nothing left and the government doesn't even listen to them. It's like normal, it's like no big deal in his eyes.”

The Kings are scheduled to play the Boston Bruins on Thursday and the Florida Panthers, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, on Saturday. According to Gestev, a company affiliated with Quebecor responsible for organizing the Californian team's stay in the capital, there are about 5,000 seats left to sell out of the 36,000 on sale.