Will Quebec City Blackmail Work?

A couple of weeks ago, French language militants went 'gaga' over what they described as a 'spectacular' turnout, when 2,500 people attended a rally in a Montreal hall to protest Bill 103, and show support for more restrictive language policies. LINK

I wonder how those organizers are reacting to the fact that twenty-five times as many people attended  a rally in Quebec City, where about 60,000 of them showed up to voice support for the return of NHL hockey. STORY  PHOTO GALLERY

There must be some sort of message in that, but I'll let the readers draw their own conclusions......

The demonstration was not just a feel good event meant for Nordique-crazed fans to demonstrate their determination to win back an NHL franchise, it was a carefully staged maneuvre by mayor Regis Lebaume, to deliver a message to the the Harper government and although the gathering was described as apolitical, it was anything but.


It seems that Mayor Lebaume has a plan to return the Nordiques to Quebec City and that plan is not up for discussion.
It's a simple plan, one where the three levels of government will pay for a new $400 million arena and Quebec's latest heartthrob, 'Boy Wonder' Pierre-Karl Péladeau, will buy, own and operate the 'new' Nordiques.

The Province of Quebec has already committed to the plan by pledging 45% of the cost of the arena. The City of Quebec has already announced that it will throw in $50 million and so another $170 million is needed to get the project off the ground.
Of course Mayor Lebaume expects the federal government to foot the bill and has embarked on a pressure campaign that can better be described as blackmail.

On the face of it, nothing goes further against Tory policy than the public financing of projects that benefit private industry and Mayor Lebaume knows it.

But political realities are something that Mayor Lebaume also understands and in an effort to pull out all the stops he has played the election card rather deftly and so, has placed the Prime Minister firmly between the proverbial "rock and a hard place"

While watching coverage of the event on the news, I spotted several signs that put it as plainly as could be.

NORDIQUES OUI= CONSERVATEURS OUI

ARENA / CONSERVATEURS 

(No Arena/ No Conservatives)

No misunderstanding there!

And so as stupid as it seems, the key to a majority government may come at the cost of a Quebec City arena.

For Harper the dilemma is real. 

The Prime Minister hasn't exactly demonstrated a keen loyalty to the conservative ideal of no interference in the public marketplace and he's certainly not been averse to blowing big government bucks in search of political advantage.

Perhaps the real question for Harper is not philosophical but rather practical. Should he pony up the money for Quebec's new arena, will the seats he will gain in Quebec, be offset by losses in other parts of the country, triggered by disgusted voter blowback?

Perhaps he can go the other route and promise funding to all that come, be it Winnipeg, Edmonton, Saskatchewan and Ottawa as well. After all, for under a billion dollars or so he can satisfy everybody's stadium ambitions and perhaps guarantee a conservative majority.

At any rate, it seems like a better use of the money then the billion he spent on the G20 conference.

For Harper the decision must be agonizing, another minority government will probably spell his demise.
Most in the Conservative party have been holding their nose, watching as the party betrays its ideals in order to stay in power.  It's unlikely that the rank and file will accept much more of a Harper if he doesn't deliver a majority. 

And so the 170 million dollar question remains, will the Prime Minister throw out the political ideals of his party and roll the dice in one last desperate attempt at a majority?

Will Harper pay?