I have not changed my mind on the Quebec City Coliseum
At a press conference this morning in Montreal, I was asked about the recent developments regarding the funding of a new Quebec City hockey coliseum. A few days ago, Quebecor’s owner and the main sponsor of this project, Pierre-Karl Péladeau, announced that he was willing to invest directly several million dollars in the building.
Misinterpreting my answer, a journalist from Mr Péladeau’s network posted an article (see an English version here) saying that I was now “open to federal funding.” All I said however was that I was happy to see this new funding offer from the private sector and that my government – more specifically the minister in charge of this file, my colleague Josée Verner – would gladly review the new offer, as it has reviewed the previous offers.
As I have said and written several times over the past months, I believe that the private sector should be mainly responsible for this type of projects. Moreover, at a time when we have a big budget deficit to eliminate, financing sporting infrastructure should not be a priority. Providing funds to one project in Quebec City would also mean that the government has to fund other projects across the country to be fair to everyone, which would cost huge sums of money. I have not changed my position in any way on this issue.
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Thank you Mr. Bernier. Don’t let the lazy asses in the press make up their own headlines because they only do it to slam and criticize anything that is not Liberal. You are doing a great job.
Please run for party leadership. I would vote CPC if you were actually fiscal conservatives.
It’s nice to see someone in politics that is not wishy washy and trying to put a spin on things.
The straight up truth…like it or not.
It’s refreshing….wish there were more like you.
I agree the $ 200 million would have to be repeated for EVERY large city wanting a new arena. If the QC political class can’t raise enough interest through private partnership they can redirect their transfer payments from the Federal Government accordingly.
Funding this arena would be the death of the Conservative Party. With the country $44B in deficit this year, the last thing we need to do is spend it on a series of professional coliseums for overpaid gladiators (hockey and football players). There is virtually NO national benefit to these local Taj Mahal’s and if the cities want them, let them pay for it – as well as the sports franchises that benefit.
Max makes a lot of sense. He’s not yet ready to replace Harper (who is in no danger of leaving any time soon), but I’ll be looking at him very closely when the time comes. It takes a lot of guts to be this blunt when the Bloc is gunning for you and the other Tory seats in QC on this issue. Bravo Max.
I am curious to know what your definition of ‘mainly’ is, Mr. Bernier.
Stand fast,Mr.Bernier, a great many Canadians agree with you. I’m sure you are aware that the NHL does not like small markets,and Quebec is seen as exactly that by Gary Bettmann and the majority of NHL governors.
Build it and they won’t come. Bettmann is more interested in a third team in New York City, tell Karl Peladeau to invest his own money in NYC,he might have a chance at actually getting a franchise.
BUT,leave us Canadian taxpayers OUT of it!
Funding sporting infrastructure is not the role of government – particularly during periods of fiscal deficit and high national debt.
By the same token, we should not be funding the arts and broadcast entertainment/news programming.
Maxime, can you please do something about the $1 Billion that goes to the CBC each year? The same argument against the Quebec arena could be applied to the CBC.
Keep up the good work.
I’m only disappointed by the qualifier language used by Maxime: Government should never give any funding whatsoever to a sporting complex, period.
I agree with many of the commenters here, funding sports complexes is not the responsibility of the federal government. This is pure vote buying. In which case, your party should use their own money to fund these arenas. The use of taxpayers’ money is corruption.
In the meantime, I keep hearing there’s a “surplus” of money possibly available for the funding. If it’s surplus, then it belongs to the taxpayer and should be given back. But the fact is that your government is up to its nipples in deficit and our cumulative debt at all levels of government is astronomical. This “surplus” is a figment of the alternate universe you spendthrifts live in. As far as I’m concerned, you have completely lost the confidence of this over-taxed former CPC voter.
Vous êtes un homme politique de valeur et de convictions contrairement à Gilles Duceppe qui n’en a pas.
Bravo Monsieur Bernier,
Continuez à défendre vos principes. Je suis convaincu que cela vous profitera dans le futur. Les politiciens de principes sont rares au Canada.
Continuez votre bon travail!!!
To JonhDoe:
There is no surplus as such. There is spending being earnmark for specific infrastructure projects that should not be used for sport installation under the current specification of the program. Unless the government decides to change this “status” that money not being spent yet is kept for future projects.
Bonsoir Monsieur Bernier,
Concernant la construction du nouveau colisée de Québec, je suis très heureux d’apprendre que monsieur Pierre Karl Péladeau a pris la décision d’investir dans ce projet et je l’en félicite car il démontre par ce fait qu’il croit vraiment à sa réalisation. Je me dois également de vous féliciter, vous et votre équipe CONSERVATEUR pour avoir forçé les différents intervenants dans ce dossier à être sérieux quant à l’aspect économique dudit projet et non agir comme Jean Charest et son équipe en garrochant n’importe quoi et n’importe comment. Continuez d’agir dans le sens du GROS BON SENS pour l’investissement dans de tels projets et j’espère que la population du Québec saura le reconnaître un jour. Nous devons toujours être sérieux dans nos calculs économiques pour tous nos projets collectifs et je constate votre constance dans ce sens.
Reprendre la NHL a qiebec ça serait comme de reprendre une ex-femme infidele en la supppliant!
Bernier what I find unusual is that you have not told the Quebecers ‘that the liberals gutted the Employment Insurance funds which was $56-60 BILLION then to have the audacity to raise the EI premiums. How dare the liberals do such a thing. You will never this in the ‘garbage’ media.
What about the so call ‘eight year balance budget’ do the Quebecers know that for the liberals to generate that they:
-downloading the costs to provinces for Healthcare
- Gutted the EI funds and raise EI premiums
- Gutted – cut funds to the military
-Gutted – cut funds to Education, infrastruction
-
If the liberals had attended to all the above instead of de-funding them the Government today under the PMSH would not have to deal with them especially at a turmoil we are facing during recession.
Had the liberals had given the military the equipments which they deserve instead of second rated equipments. The Government of today would not have to deal with this matter.
When the liberals did as they pleased when time was booming back then for PMSH and Canadians to face with that delimma today and to be treated badly by the media is imperative that you Bernier do a loud talking.
Forty million dollars is still missing-do you really think that the media will call on the liberals for this lost? Not on our lives that’s for sure.
How many canadians know or heard of those things which I pointed out above? Not many.
@Jen: that is partisan trash. While the Liberals did do some inappropriate EI stuff, the amount taken wasn’t that huge. 40 million is nothing compared to Harper’s spending increases. And that stuff about ‘downloading’/cutting was the uhh….good part of the Liberals. It’s how they got a budget surplus and it was cheered on and called insufficient by Canada’s then principled Reform Party/CA.
Completement d’accord,au privé.Sans ça ça va couter 3 fois le prix,comme le stade.Ce coup-ci on ne peut le refilé aux fumeurs.
On met la drogue légale et on la taxe.Plus sérieusement.Un autre stade et le peuple va se révolter.
On va en avoir assez de survivre au fait que les USA ont imprimés des devises en quantité industielle.
Ça va faire baisser leur dollard,ils vont exporter au lieu d’importer.C’est pas le temps d’embarquer dans un autre stade olympiique.
Ça coûte toujours moins cher avec le privé,et si les investisseurs pensent que ça va être rentable,qu’ils risquent leur argent pas la nôtre.
Ce qui me désole le plus, est de constater que la plupart des gens qui vous repondent sont anglophones. Ça me désole de constater que les francophones ne sont pas réceptifs à vos idées. Biens content de voir que vos idées sont biens perçues dans le reste du canada, surtout dans l’ouest. Malheureusement, le quebec francophone semble avoir peur des idées libertariennes. Le privé ce n’est pas le chaos, et je me demande quand les francophones du québec le comprendront.