The Minister of Sport, Recreation and Outdoors, Isabelle Charest, wanted to be reassuring in the face of concerns from the sports community following a reorganization of her ministry which followed allegations of a toxic work climate.
An assistant deputy minister and a director general were appointed two weeks ago, and two directors left, bringing the number of directorates without a permanent incumbent to three, reported Monday The duty.
These changes have raised concerns from the co-founder of the Grand Défi, Pierre Lavoie, and representatives of sports federations, some fearing a loss of expertise.
In the press scrum on Tuesday, Mme Charest highlighted the skills of the newcomers. “We have quality managers who are capable of learning. You can learn about a sector quite quickly. We still have a whole team of professionals who have an understanding of the industry. Again, we are going to give the runner a chance,” she declared.
In July, before the announcement of this reorganization, The duty had reported allegations of a toxic work climate targeting the office of Assistant Deputy Minister Josée Lepage. At the beginning of September, the latter was appointed to the Ministry of Families, and her executive assistant Martin Cléroult obtained a promotion in a department of the Ministry of Education, to which the Sport, Leisure and Outdoors sector falls.
The new assistant deputy minister, Chantal Marchand, took office after the departure of Ms.me Lepage at the head of the sector. “When the deputy minister took office, she contacted everyone. The feedback we have on the ground is positive,” said M.me Charest.
The launch of the reference framework on the development of sports practice in Quebec, where several representatives from sports circles are expected, is being maintained at the beginning of November, insists the minister. “We continue to work within all the deadlines we had. »