Summer in the city is synonymous with the sultry sounds of the Beaches International Jazz Festival.

Sax in the park, dancing on the boardwalk, and trumpets swinging on Queen St. E. entice some 500,000 visitors to the 10-day free musical festival that is promoted as in North America’s largest.

So what in the world is the Ontario government hoping to achieve by cutting its annual grant?

It’s not like the government is saving any money. As the Star’s Rob Ferguson reports, the Liberals are under attack for supporting a concert by multi-millionaire rapper Drake, while refusing the festival’s request for $120,000, up from the $75,000 it received over the last few years.

Clearly, this is a politically inept decision that should be immediately corrected.

It’s hard to disagree with Beaches-East York MPP Michael Prue, a New Democrat, when he says that “it’s just not right.” Prue says the festival, which started in 1989, injects $65 million into the Toronto economy, with $30 million of that spent in the Beaches.

Without support from the Celebrate Ontario fund, controlled by Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Michael Chan, the festival organizers warn they’ll have to make severe cuts to the 800 performers scheduled to appear. The government grant fund has covered 20 per cent of the festival’s budget for several years and helped it attract the massive fan base.

So, just to recap, a free festival that attracts hundreds of thousands gets nothing. But Drake’s two-day festival at the Molson Amphitheatre reportedly receives $300,000 and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment gets $500,000 for the NBA All-Star game. It’s not like Drake and MLSE need the cash.

To make it worse, the government can somehow find money for similar events. According to Prue, a smaller music festival in Chan’s own Markham-Unionville riding got $44,625 and a series of festivals in Labour Minister Yasir Naqvi’s Ottawa Centre riding received Celebrate Ontario funding as well. Somebody’s not sharing.

So now that the Beaches festival has been cut off — without an explanation — it’s hard to say what the event will look like this July. Organizers say hundreds of performers will be cut and the event could be shortened.

Surely the government can find a way to make sure that, this summer, Queen St. will once again be alive with the sound of music.