Eric Girard was so enthusiastic about the idea of bringing the Los Angeles Kings to Quebec for a week in the fall of 2024 that in late August he was prepared to call a special meeting of the Council of Ministers if necessary.
• Also read: A $5 million to $7 million grant for the Los Angeles Kings' visit to Quebec
• Also read: Kings in Quebec: Québec Solidaire calls for an investigation by the Auditor General
• Also read: $5 to $7 million for the Kings: Dissatisfaction among CAQ MPs
The finance minister never hid it. “This project is my idea,” he reiterated during a press conference on November 21st, while facing widespread criticism over his controversial grant to the Kings, announced on November 14th.
Remember that up to $7 million will be paid to Quebecor so that the Los Angeles team can hold the end of its training camp at the Videotron Center from October 2 to 6, 2024 and play two friendly matches there.
Even elected CAQ officials said the timing of the announcement was “questionable,” given the cost of living crisis and difficult negotiations with public sector unions. Some even said it went against their values.
The correspondence exchanged between the Minister of Finance, his office, Quebecor and the NHL, made public under the Access to Information Act, allows us to learn more about the process that led to the award of this financial assistance.
A great interest”
According to documents seen by our parliamentary office, Quebecor officially submitted its request for financial support to the government on August 30.
The next morning, at 6:28 a.m., Eric Girard personally contacted the chief operating officer of Quebecor's Sports and Entertainment Group, Martin Tremblay, to send him “a draft letter of comfort.”
The purpose of this MOU is to “facilitate an agreement between your organization and an NHL team,” Mr. Girard writes, referring to the Kings training camp and two-game presentation.
“I believe that such an event would contribute to the promotion of our state capital and therefore encourage you to continue discussions with a view to reaching an agreement,” the Finance Minister continued.
In his September 1 letter, a copy of which was sent to Treasury President Sonia LeBel, Mr. Girard confirmed that “the Government of Quebec has a great interest in holding this event” and that he “has a great interest is interested in holding this event”. We are thrilled that this initiative is bearing fruit.”
“Good job!”
That same day, just before 2 p.m., the finance minister thanked his two deputy ministers and his legal director in an email for their “excellent work on this file.”
“Today Quebecor will sign an agreement with the Kings, conditioned on the signing of a detailed agreement between Quebecor and the Government of Quebec,” Mr. Girard wrote to them.
“There is nothing to do today or this weekend,” he tells them, but “from Tuesday we must get to work to draft and sign this agreement.”
“It is therefore possible that we may have to appoint a CM [Conseil des ministres] “It is particularly important to ratify the agreement next Friday,” warns the major Quebec financier.
In one of the emails released following a request for information, Finance Minister Eric Girard speaks of the possibility of convening a special council of ministers to ratify the agreement between Quebecor and the Kings of Los Angeles. SCREEN PHOTO
Things will then get mixed up very quickly. It was actually on a Friday, September 8, that shortly after 2 p.m. “the file was approved by the Council of Ministers,” as Mr. Girard told his team. “Good job!”
At the beginning of the evening, at 5:37 p.m., it says exactly: “Good news, the agreement is signed,” confirms Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Julie Gingras.
The lodges refused
From reviewing these emails, we also learned that the project promoter had offered lodges to the government (as a partner), but the government ultimately rejected the offer after careful consideration.
“It was offered to us but we declined,” confided a source close to Minister Girard.
In one of the emails released following an access to information request, the ministry emphasizes that a reference to lodges has been removed from the draft contract. After verification was conducted, the organizer offered boxes to the government, which declined the offer. SCREEN PHOTO
The details of this agreement have been completely redacted by Treasury lawyers because it is “proprietary information.”
The details of the agreement between Quebecor and the Los Angeles Kings, made public following an access to information request, were completely redacted by Treasury lawyers under the pretext that it was “proprietary information.” SCREEN PHOTO
Remember that Mr. Girard, after affirming the opposite when announcing the event together with Minister Jonatan Julien, the representative of Quebecor and the owner of the Kings, Luc Robitaille, declared that it was a “step to promote Quebec’s candidacy for the “return of a team to the national league.”
Among those who criticized this subsidy, Québec Solidaire notably called on the Auditor General of Quebec to investigate it.
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