DONNACONA | The closure of schools has caused a lot of suffering to young people who have been forced to “sit on a couch, read books, and eat chips”, according to Éric Duhaime.
• Read also: Elections: maple syrup producers expect more from the CAQ and the PLQ
• Read also: Taxing the resale of used cars does not make sense, says Éric Duhaime
This is what the Conservative leader has said in several speeches to his supporters since the start of the election campaign.
It is not a question of a “devaluation of reading”, assured Éric Duhaime on Friday in response to the question from the Journal, but rather of a denunciation of the “sedentary habits” caused by confinement in recent years, and in particular through distance education.
“What I’m saying is that sedentary habits, when young people aren’t moving, they’re doing two hours less of physical activity a week, that’s not something positive in terms of average health. and in the long term, it could have very damaging effects, ”explained the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec during a press briefing in the riding of Portneuf.
In the last few days, the Conservatives have made several commitments regarding physical activity. In power, they would force young people to do at least 30 minutes of sport a day at school. They would also pay a $500 tax credit for all physical activity.
An active lifestyle could even promote the development of reading skills, said Éric Duhaime.
“I can tell you one thing, when I come back from a race I’m a lot more focused than when I haven’t raced and been inactive all day. If we want our children to improve their abilities, particularly in terms of reading, physical activity is not something contradictory, it is something complementary,” he stressed.
Asked more broadly about his party’s proposals on education, the Conservative leader said he will present commitments on this subject later in the campaign.
Voices are currently being raised to denounce the virtual absence of the theme of education during the election campaign. “It seems to me that when it’s a priority, we don’t wait three days before the vote to talk about it,” Sylvain Martel, spokesman for the Regroupement des committees de parents autonomes du Québec (RCPAQ), said impatiently on Thursday.