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Less than a week after the Coalition Avenir Québec government spent $7 million in taxpayer funds to subsidize two Los Angeles Kings pre-season matches in Quebec City comes news Premier François Legault’s office used a government credit card to purchase a Canadiens hockey jersey signed by the late Guy Lafleur — and then had it framed at public expense to hang in his office.
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The Journal de Montréal reported Legault — a multimillionaire before he ran for public office — indirectly charged taxpayers a total of $1,282 to acquire the jersey with the Le Démon Blond’s name on it.
Legault ordered the purchase in March 2021 from a Bell Centre boutique. In fact, the premier’s office bought a total of 14 Guy Lafleur sweaters, all autographed by The Flower himself. That bill came to $4,828, the Journal noted.
“To François, best wishes,” Lafleur wrote in black marker. The legendary right-winger would die a year later.
The jerseys were purchased as gifts for the premiers of Canada’s provinces and territories as part of a virtual meeting of the Council of the Federation, a government spokesperson confirmed. Legault was serving at the time as president of the council.
Then October of the same year, an employee in Legault’s office used a government credit card to have the Lafleur jersey for the premier framed at a cost of $937 at a boutique in Laval, according to the Journal.
Naturally, the story blew up on social media.
“Ben non!” tweeted Liberal MNA Enrico Ciccone on X. Before entering politics, Ciccone had played defence in the National Hockey League for a number of teams, including the Canadiens during the 2000-2001 season.
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Marc Tanguay, leader of the Quebec Liberals, also chimed in on X: “When we were saying that François Legault had lost his (moral) compass. Insulting!”
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Vincent Boulay, a lawyer and union consultant, reacted negatively, too, posting on X the purchase “smells of the end of a regime.”
“At the same time as we are facing significant cuts in the health-care network and in education,” Boulay added.
The premier’s office declined to provide a comment for the Journal story. However, Legault — a passionate fan of hockey and especially of the Habs, often commenting publicly on the team’s performance — posted a capsule review on X Saturday of a Quebec mystery thriller he had read recently.
On Oct. 3 — coincidentally the same day as the first Kings match in Quebec City — Finance Minister Eric Girard announced the government’s budget deficit has soared by $570 million from its last update in June. The shortfall now stands at a total of $11 billion.
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