The opposition in the National Assembly is denouncing a $6.5 million subsidy granted by the Quebec government to the Presidents Cup, a prestigious golf tournament.
At a press briefing on Wednesday morning, the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, argued that this money could have been better used, in order to finance “basic” services rather than “luxuries.”
He recalled that the CAQ government of François Legault also provided up to $7 million for the Los Angeles Kings, a wealthy professional hockey team, so that it could hold preparatory games in Quebec.
The Presidents Cup, which brings together the world’s best golfers, is being held this week at the Royal Montreal Golf Club. It generates annual revenues of US$1.9 billion.
On Wednesday, the Parti Québécois asked to see the impact studies carried out by the government that would justify a subsidy for the Coupe des Présidents.
Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy suggested that it was unacceptable to fund this tournament to the tune of $6.5 million when “we are having trouble replacing a toilet at Cégep du Vieux Montréal.”
Asked about this, Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx defended the subsidy by assuring that the golf tournament would generate significant economic benefits.
“In the case of the Presidents Cup, $6.5 million for $71 million in spinoffs, 45,000 tourists from outside Quebec who come to Montreal, who generate tourist spending, that’s what we want to achieve,” she said.