It makes no sense that Ontario’s minority Liberal government would deprive the free Beaches International Jazz Festival of a grant while supporting a concert associated with multimillionaire rapper Drake, opposition parties said Monday.

“It’s not right,” New Democrat MPP Michael Prue (Beaches—East York) said as Premier Kathleen Wynne was put on the defensive over the decision revealed last week.

“My hope is that they’ll be able to find a program that fits so that we can support the festival,” Wynne told reporters after announcing $1.5 million to help expand the massive Fiera Foods bakery in Rexdale, creating 52 new jobs.

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Organizers of the annual summer event, the country’s largest free jazz festival for 25 years, have warned they will have to cut back drastically on the 800 performers slated to appear if they lose provincial support from the Celebrate Ontario fund, which has covered 20 per cent of their budget for several years while helping to attract 500,000 fans.‎ The jazz festival’s application was rejected with no explanation, organizers have said.

The festival “does need help,” Progressive Conservative MPP Rod Jackson (Barrie) told reporters, shaking his head at the decision.

“It’s been ‎free for years and yet we give money to a Drake concert and give money to MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment) for the NBA all-star game,” he added. “These are things that make money on their own and then we subsidize it. For what?”

The parent company of the Maple Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC got $500,000 from the province to lure the 2016 NBA all-stars to the Air Canada Centre, while Drake’s two-day OVO Fest at the Molson Amphitheatre for which tickets are already on sale, was reportedly given $300,000.

“The paid tickets are $120 and up,” said Prue, noting the jazz fest had sought $120,000 after receiving $75,000 annually for the last few years.

Wynne said ‎there are “other funding sources” possible for the jazz festival, and noted “there are hundreds of proposals” that flood in to the Celebrate Ontario fund run by Michael Chan’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

Chan said the jazz fest did not make the cut among 441 applications, about half of which were approved.

“The rest, sorry,” Chan said.

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He acknowledged that MLSE has submitted a request for $10 million in provincial funding to expand BMO Field, home to the Toronto FC soccer club.

“We are looking at it,” Chan said.

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