Duceppe wants Harper to back arena plan

Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe is calling on the prime minister to personally endorse the construction of a new arena in Quebec City.

Duceppe said at a news conference Wednesday that he hopes Ottawa will come out in favour of the project, which he says will help the dream of drawing a new NHL hockey team in Quebec City.

The city lost its club in 1995, when the weak dollar and crumbling Le Colisée arena forced the Quebec Nordiques to move to Denver, where the team became the Colorado Avalanche.

According to Duceppe, a new arena is essential for the city to be able to attract a professional hockey team, and will improve Quebec City's chances of landing the 2022 Olympic Games.

All three projects are intricately linked, Duceppe said.

The Bloc leader said the Conservative minister responsible for the Quebec region, Josée Verner, and other MPs are hiding behind a feasibility study for the arena to avoid taking a position.

The Bloc Québécois claims that the NHL and Olympic Games representatives are receptive to the idea of the city receiving both a team and the 2022 event.

The Quebec government has already pledged money to help build the NHL-calibre arena, a project that Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume has been urging politicians to get behind.

Quebec City has also put forward $50 million for the project.

The arena is expected to cost $400 million.