Government plans to spend $1-billion on Canadian arenas, stadiums

OTTAWA, On. - Ottawa is being verbally body-checked over a possible plan to spend $1-billion on professional arenas and stadiums in Canada.

The Harper government is trying to bend some rules, wanting to use unspent cash from the 2008 budget toward projects like a new Canadian Football League stadium for Regina and an National Hockey League arena for Quebec, The Globe and Mail reported.

University of Calgary economist Frank Atkins is disappointed with the reports. He said the government needs to take a step back, and give its head a shake.

"If people want to build arenas, especially in the Quebec case for an NHL arena, then the private sector is going to have to step up to the plate," he said.

Tax dollars shouldn't be used for sports, he stressed. The bonus billion would be better spent reducing the deficit or paying off debt.

Atkins believes this is another example of needless over-spending, and a few decades ago that led to double digit interest rates and a multitude of problems.

"I'm hoping we've learned our lesson [...] chronic deficit is very bad for the economy," he said.

Dr. Atkins doesn't understand why the government claims it wants to reduce spending, but could be doing the exact opposite.