A local businessman is questioning the provincial government’s deal with NASCAR when he couldn’t get funding to keep his business from going under.

Ross Squires is the former owner of Axtion, an indoor amusement park that closed its doors last August.

On Monday, the province announced a three-year deal with NASCAR, which includes $600,000 in funding.

Squires says he’s heard Premier Andrew Furey talk about how the deal will be good for the hospitality and tourism sector. However, when he went to get funding for Axtion nine months ago there was none available.

He says government wants businesses to expand, create employment, promote tourism, and tackle obesity. However, he says he had all of that in one package and couldn’t get funding.

The equipment from Axtion was sold to the families who operate Magic Mountain in New Brunswick and Sandspit in PEI. In talking to them while they were picking up the equipment, he found out that they get annual funding to operate their parks because they are a “tourist draw.”

He says it’s sad that those provinces are giving money to seasonal attractions, and now the same kinds of rides are gone from this province.