The Quebec government hopes to pay less than the $5 to $7 million planned for the Los Angeles Kings matches in the capital after an external audit which will establish its financial participation in the organization of these sporting events, the cabinet indicated on Monday from the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard.
An external firm will examine the financial results of the operation once the two games between the Kings and two other National Hockey League (NHL) teams in Quebec have been played in October 2024, said the press secretary, Claudia. Loupret.
According to her, the government has already agreed with Gestev, a subsidiary of Quebecor which organizes the event, that its subsidy will not exceed 7 million. And the final amount “could be very different” from the estimate made by Mr. Girard, who had established his minimum participation at 5 million.
“Our goal is for it to be much less and that’s why it requires a proper audit afterwards,” said the press officer.
However, it is still too early to know to what extent the government’s financial participation could be less than expected.
“This is what we hope, that the event will be a success and that excess expenses will be less in this context,” said Mr.me Loupret.
Last week, Mr. Girard sparked controversy by announcing that the government would subsidize two Los Angeles Kings exhibition games in Quebec, before the start of the official NHL season.
Mr. Girard then estimated that financial aid of 5 to 7 million would be used to cover the deficit of the operation.
“The audit of the financial statements will make it possible to determine after the event the real amount that the government assumes. If all goes well it will be much less than that,” said Mme Loupret, specifying that the audit is a “standard” operation for this type of financing.
In a press release sent last Monday, Gestev did not mention the amount of funding from the Quebec government.
The government will channel its subsidy to Gestev via the National Capital Region Fund (FRCN), in two installments, this year and next, indicated Mr. Girard’s spokesperson.
Management of the FRNC has been delegated to the City of Quebec and the region’s regional county municipalities (MRC) on their respective territories.
Investigation
Québec solidaire (QS) for its part officially asked Monday the Auditor General of Quebec, Guylaine Leclerc, to investigate the process of awarding the subsidy to Gestev.
QS refers to an article of The Press which revealed on Saturday that the planned sums will pass through the FRCN, whose capital is intended for local projects.
“None of the standards and allocation processes normally applicable to the use of this fund would have been respected, in particular with regard to a ceiling of 3 million for a project held in a given year or the decentralized management relating to local communities,” wrote MPs Vincent Marissal and Haroun Bouazzi.
The Parti Québécois has indicated its support for the QS approach.
The Liberal Party of Quebec, Monsef Derraji, for his part judged that this would be superfluous.
“We do not need an investigation by the VGQ to say that it is a very bad decision by the CAQ to use public funds for a hockey training camp,” he said. -he said, specifying that Ms. Leclerc is independent.
Mr. Derraji nevertheless deplored the fact that the government was using a regional fund initially intended to support projects by businesses and local non-profit organizations.
“We must decry it loud and clear! Their record in the National Capital is totally catastrophic,” he exclaimed in a written statement.
Last week, the opposition parties asked the government to reverse course on this issue.