A day after the Legault government's minister for the Montreal region professed the government's openness to committing public money for a new baseball stadium, CAQ members voted in favor of a Quebec Solidaire motion categorically rejecting the idea.
The motion passed unanimously in the National Assembly Thursday morning.
The motion, put forth by Rosemont MNA Vincent Marissal, stated that while the National Assembly "hopes for and encourages the return of the Expos to Montreal", it makes it clear that it expects the private sector to foot the bill for baseball, and not Quebec taxpayers.
On Wednesday, minister Chantal Rouleau reiterated the CAQ's position on baseball — that it would be open to chipping in for the construction of a new ballpark, provided the plans brought forward by local investors are financially viable.
The group of Montreal investors trying to engineer the return of Major League Baseball to Montreal appears to have settled on Peel Basin for the construction of a new park, and are mobilizing to have the federal government sell them the land upon which the new park would be built.
Marissal, for his part, suggested he didn't want a repeat of the situation which led to the construction of the Videotron Centre in Quebec City — which was built in anticipation of a new NHL team taking up residence in Quebec City, but which is now used mainly for concerts and the home of junior hockey's Quebec Remparts.