The Kings in Quebec | Where do the millions come from? Surprise !

(Quebec) Where does the $5 to $7 million come from to finance the holding of two preparatory games for the Los Angeles Kings in Quebec?

The question is simple. The answer ? Quite a bit less to obtain, and it is surprising: to subsidize the event, the Legault government uses a regional fund intended to support projects of businesses and local non-profit organizations. Among them, the Portneuf day camp, the Charlevoix-Est curling club, the Tigidou jam factory and the artisanal biscuit factory Chez Léon et Lily.

The average aid is far from the subsidy of 5 to 7 million announced by Finance Minister Eric Girard for the Los Angeles Kings’ four-day training camp at the Videotron Center in October 2024. We are talking about $100,000 at $150,000 per project.

Short-circuited procedure

The government also passed a decree from the Council of Ministers to allow it to use the fund in question, called the National Capital Region Fund (FRCN), for this purpose.

This is because, according to its own official documents, the government owns the fund, but has delegated its management for years to the City of Quebec and the MRCs, in the name of municipal autonomy. A “delegation agreement” was signed between the parties to set the rules and conditions of this transfer of management.

However, the City and the MRCs did not take part in the discussions on the arrival of the Kings. The government informed them of its decision the day before the announcement… without specifying that the FRCN was being used. The mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, was conspicuous by his absence at this announcement; he already had other commitments.

The government assures that “the money from the Kings does not reduce the amounts allocated” to the FRCN, or approximately $25 million per year. He decided to increase the fund from 5 to 7 million and spread the sum over two years. This is only for the project involving the Kings, and the bonus will not be recurring.

Why spread the grant over two years? It turns out that one of the conditions that the government imposes on the City and the MRCs in the management of the FRCN is to not spend more than 3 million on a project over the course of a year – the allocation of 3 million is occurring twice since 2019, according to available public documents.

Another element: the City and the MRCs do not distribute the FRCN sums willy-nilly. They do this by launching calls for projects. There are eligibility conditions. Proposals are reviewed based on a series of criteria.

The government did not submit its project to such a procedure, we recognize in Quebec.

“On cow land”?

The involvement of a billionaire hockey club in a project financed by the FRCN stands out when we consult the list of beneficiaries to date. Farms for expansion, entrepreneurs starting their businesses, a spa building mini-chalets on its site, a Charlevoix radio station modernizing its equipment, a non-profit organization seeking to develop urban agriculture…

Finance Minister Eric Girard, who initiated the invitation to the Kings, declined an interview request. The same goes for the minister responsible for the National Capital, Jonatan Julien, who is the titular minister of the FRCN.

In a parliamentary committee last spring, Mr. Julien said that the previous year the FRCN had supported 203 projects of “various natures which contribute to the socio-economic development” of the region, including a “clean technology incubator, an IT training center […], organic meats from Charlevoix and the Portneuf camp.” It is “managed in a decentralized manner with local communities,” he insisted. So, it is certain that the pulse or the need is well felt because we are on the cow’s land when we grant these amounts.”

In a press release in July, the minister praised the results of the FRCN, whose “management has been delegated to the City of Quebec and the MRCs”. The fund “made it possible to create or maintain 3,625 jobs” thanks to the 18.3 million granted to 172 projects in 2022-2023.

However, no economic impact analysis has been carried out in connection with the subsidy granted for the Kings’ visit to Quebec.

The influence of the capital

We see it: the subsidy granted for the holding of preparatory matches for an NHL team is exceptional. Quebec did not finance such games presented at the Videotron Center in 2017 and 2018. The Nova Scotia government did not pay a penny this fall for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ four-day visit to Halifax and the holding a preparatory match.

We have already demonstrated how shaky the comparison with the subsidies paid for the PGA Presidents Cup and the F1 Grand Prix in Montreal was.

In government, we recognize that the project launched by Eric Girard is not part of any “standardized” government program; which happens on occasion for other projects that Quebec wants to support. It was necessary to find a financial vehicle to pay the subsidy. But which one? The FRCN was considered to be the best option in the circumstances. We therefore took the sum from the Treasury’s “contingency fund”, partly intended for “unforeseen events”, and deposited it in the FRCN in order to conclude the agreement involving the Kings with Gestev, a subsidiary of Quebecor.

According to Law granting the status of national capital to the City of Quebec and as such increasing its autonomy and powersadopted in 2016, the FRCN aims “to contribute to the dynamism, vitality, development, growth and influence of the national capital and its region”.

Quebec insists on the word “radiation” to justify the use of the FRCN. For now, the radiation is not exactly as expected…

Legault defends himself

“It’s also important to invest in leisure, whether it’s sports or culture,” Prime Minister François Legault defended on Friday. And “the people of Quebec, they like hockey”. He wants to send a signal to the NHL with this event, with a view to one day obtaining the return of the Nordiques.

Eric Girard said exactly the opposite at a press conference this week, assuring that there is no link with the Nordiques issue…

Meanwhile, there is discontent within the CAQ caucus. Jonquière MP Yannick Gagnon openly said that he has questions: “I am going to ask for an explanation, because my voicemail, my email box and the population are asking for an explanation. »

Behind the scenes, we also observe that the subsidy granted for the arrival of the Kings corresponds almost exactly to the 8 million missing in the economic update of November 7 to meet the needs of food banks – including the Bouchée generouse, neighbor of the Videotron Center. Expect the government to announce soon that the money will finally be there…

Among the CAQ, even those who jointly defend the subsidy recognize that the “timing” of the announcement was bad.

After all, Eric Girard said ten days ago that “the next six months will be very difficult”, that the government has no room for maneuver to give more to state employees and that “any additional expenditure will require loans”…

Given the scale of the controversy, the Minister of Finance intends to “rectify things in this matter” during a press briefing next week.

He better sharpen his skates.