Outdoor life and elections

Well seated in a kayak, fascinated by a great blue heron spreading its wings or a turtle dozing in the sun, we don’t really want to hear about elections, ministries, studies or action plans . But lo and behold, politics can have consequences even in the depths of the woods.

Mary Tison
The Press

Thus, as part of the election campaign, Réseau plein air Québec (RPAQ), an organization that brings together the province’s 11 outdoor sports federations, such as Rando Québec, Canot Kayak Québec and Spéléo Québec, a series of demands to the political parties in the running.

“We tried to be very concrete, ambitious, with a vision of what the outdoors should be like,” says Annick St-Denis, General Manager of the RPAQ.

A ministry

The first request may seem very bureaucratic, far from the magic of a morning walk on a river: to create a Ministry of Sport, Active Recreation and the Outdoors.

“Right now, the sport and leisure sector is a bit drowned in a huge, very important ministry, the Ministry of Education, explains Ms.^me St-Denis. It’s a very youthful look. However, the outdoors is not just for young people, even if we want young people to be active and it’s a good time to introduce people to physical activity. But we want the elders to move, that the teenagers keep moving. »

In addition, having a specialized ministry would give better visibility to the outdoors and would make it possible to establish more direct contact with the other ministries involved in the outdoors, such as Municipal Affairs, Environment or Health. .

The RPAQ is asking that this new department quickly carry out a study on the economic, social and health benefits of outdoor activities. “We lack data, argues M^me St-Denis. It would be asking a lot of outdoor organizations to carry the weight of such a study, they have few means, they are often in a precarious situation. We think that the government should commit to conducting this study to realize the importance of investing in the outdoors. »

The RPAQ would like the government to grant outdoor infrastructure the same type of funding as it grants to off-road vehicle trails. “I don’t take anything away from the people who enjoy these activities, but I think the added value of non-motorized outdoor activities is much more important for society, if only in terms of health,” says Ms.^me St-Denis.

Greater financial support

Outdoor activity organizations would also need greater, more constant financial support. This would help them in particular to better enforce the standards they put in place and to improve the training of participants.

“If people start without being properly initiated, they may have a bad experience and they will stop doing physical activity, or, again, we will end up with accidents,” she says.

And when there are accidents, “people become cautious, insurance companies become cautious, there may be constraints on keeping the sites open. »

Good initiatives, such as the loan of equipment in libraries, can have negative effects if we are not careful. “Lending equipment to people who don’t know what to do with it is a bit of chasing trouble. It takes a global vision, hence the idea of ​​a government action plan. »

The issue of access to public lands and shorelines should also be addressed.

For the moment, the platforms of the various parties do not really address these issues.

“There will always be time, once the new government is in place, to meet people in key positions,” said Ms.^me St-Denis. But in the meantime, we wanted to project a vision of the outdoors as we wanted to see it evolve. »