The arrival of the Kings from Los Angeles to Quebec rallied the extremes on Thursday, at a time when solidarity, liberals and conservatives took turns criticizing what, in their eyes, amounts to a “big waste of public money” made by “the Spending Kings”.
The Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, dreamed of a celebration of hockey – and the oppositions in the National Assembly had a field day to defeat the government.
The interim leader of the Liberal troops, Marc Tanguay, started the day by brandishing the “King of deficits” sweater that he intends to give to Prime Minister François Legault for the SAAQclic fiasco, the useless purchase of 900,000 contact lenses and the granting of public funds to an American hockey team owned by a billionaire.
François Legault will wear the number “11 billion,” quipped the interim Liberal leader, in honor of the record deficit that his government presented in the last budget.
“We must give back to Caesar what is due to Caesar,” said Mr. Tanguay ironically. You see, he has the “C”: he’s the captain, he’s the one at the head of all that. »
Simultaneous protests
At the stroke of noon, two demonstrations took place to denounce the subsidy of 5 to 7 million public dollars granted to the Los Angeles Kings for their stay in Quebec.
At the foot of the Videotron Center, 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 sport as much as their disagreement with the millions disbursed by the government. “The hard-earned taxes of Quebecers should never be used for the whims of an incompetent and spendthrift minister. »
A few kilometers away, the solidarity workers in turn participated in the procession organized by the Coalition Main Rouge, a group of community organizations brought together to mark the mid-term of the CAQ government, which coincides with the clash between the Kings and the Bruins.
“There are other emergencies than hockey, golf and Northvolt,” the coalition wrote on the protest page on social media. Since 2019, requests for food assistance have jumped 73%. One in ten people now use it. The CAQ must fund, urgently and in accordance with their needs, all community groups. »
Further details will follow.