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Two simple questions for Mayor Denis Coderre: How much public money will be spent to lure a Major League Baseball franchise back to Montreal, and how much has already been spent to further that goal?

These questions are rhetorical. If history is any indication, don’t expect an accurate answer before 2050.

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Before elaborating on yet another of Coderre’s extravagant legacy-building exercises, a disclaimer: I like baseball. I wish it weren’t so unpopular with kids today. I played the game throughout my youth, consider some of that experience to be formative, and would happily attend Expos games at a downtown ballpark on occasion.

Baseball’s charm aside, there doesn’t appear to be any valid argument for further government-subsidized activities related to the game, or for public funds to go toward the construction of any professional sports stadium.

Leaders like Coderre who will “absolutely” support a publicly funded Expos venture this year, presumably in the belief that it would be a sound government investment,appear to be wildly uninformed.