Will the 2021 Francophonie Games still go ahead in Moncton and Dieppe given the ballooning cost of up to $130 million?
The original bid was pegged at only $17 million.
In a year end interview, Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe MP Ginette Petitpas Taylor says the federal government does have a policy of supporting up to 50 percent of the cost of major sporting events like the Francophonie Games.
“Well I have to say, just as other New Brunswickers, I am also concerned about the cost of the games and where they have landed at this time.”
But while Ottawa could pay half the cost, Petitpas Taylor says it will ultimately be up to the province to determine whether or not the Francophonie Games will be held.
A joint bid from Moncton-Dieppe was awarded the games in 2016 after the only remaining city in the running – Sherbrooke, Quebec – threw its support behind New Brunswick.
The controversy over the skyrocketing cost prompted four board of directors on the organizing committee to resign last week.
The Higgs government is expected to make a decision about the event’s future in January.
