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| | Friday, January 21 | |||||
| OTTAWA -- A taxpayer group is urging Canadians who oppose federal subsidies to NHL teams to send hockey pucks to the prime minister in protest.
The government announced earlier this week that it is prepared
to provide up to about $2 million to each of the country's six NHL
franchises each year to ensure that they do not move to the United
States. The federal aid is contingent upon city and provincial
governments also providing money to the teams.
Walter Robinson, director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which opposes the subsidies, noted that citizens can send mail free of charge to Prime Minister Jean Chretien or any member of parliament. "When the rubber hits the prime minister's office in a shower of hockey pucks, Mr. Chretien might have some sense knocked into him and respond to Canadians' visceral displeasure with this bailout scheme," Robinson said. The financial aid program for the NHL has angered some Canadians. Brenda Chamberlain, head of Ontario's Liberal Party caucus, says she has been inundated with calls of protest, receiving at least 10 times the number she normally receives on contentious issues. Industry Minister John Manley has said the government's willingness to provide subsidies is designed to help NHL teams solve their financial problems. Two teams left Canada in the last five years -- the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado in 1995, and the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix in 1996. | ALSO SEE Canadian hockey aid triggers storm of controversy Canada OKs subsidization for its NHL teams  | |||||