Quebec opposition parties denounce $6.5M subsidy granted to Presidents Cup

The opposition parties at the National Assembly are denouncing a $6.5 million subsidy granted by the Quebec government to the Presidents Cup, a prestigious golf tournament.

At a press briefing Wednesday morning, the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, argued this money could have been better used to finance “basic” services rather than “luxuries.”

He recalled the CAQ government of François Legault also extended up to $7 million to the Los Angeles Kings, a professional hockey team, so that it could hold pre-season games in Quebec City.

The Presidents Cup, which brings together the best golfers in the world, is being held this week at the Royal Montreal Golf Club. The PGA generates annual revenues of $1.9 billion US.

On Wednesday, the Parti Québécois asked to see the impact studies conducted by the government that would justify a subsidy for the Presidents Cup.

Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy suggested it was unacceptable to fund the PGA to the tune of $6.5 million when “we’re having trouble replacing a toilet at Cégep du Vieux Montréal.”

When asked about it, Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx defended the subsidy by assuring the golf tournament would generate significant economic spinoffs.

“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.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews