No public funding for a new baseball stadium in Montreal, Quebec opposition parties say

“Let’s not be fooled,” says Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois of a report that Quebec is being asked hundreds of millions to build the Peel Basin project.

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A report that Stephen Bronfman’s Groupe Baseball Montréal is seeking government funding to build a new baseball stadium in Montreal scored three quick blows from Quebec’s opposition leaders on Tuesday.

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According to Press, The group is seeking up to hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and forgivable loans for the $ 1 billion Peel Basin project.

François Legault’s government, the report suggests, is open to the idea as long as it comes at no cost to taxpayers.

“They are taking us for fools,” said liberal leader Dominique Anglade on the suggestion that such a thing could be done at no cost to taxpayers. Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois noted that North American sports teams have acquired the “habit” of requesting public funds based on “exaggerated” economic benefits.

“Let’s not be fooled,” he said during an appearance in the National Assembly.

“(Spending) taxpayer money for half a baseball team that belongs to millionaires and billionaires is absurd,” he added. “It shows that François Legault has lost all sense of priorities.”

The parliamentary leader of the Parti Québécois, Joël Arseneau, joined the chorus of voices that suggested that Quebecers’ priorities lie elsewhere: “We have seen this film before and it is hard to believe that it will turn out better than in the past.”