Faced with the increase in violent behavior towards officials in arenas, Minister Isabelle Charest welcomes the idea of equipping hockey referees with body cameras.
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It is no longer uncommon to see officials be victims of verbal abuse or even physical attacks from players or parents in amateur sport. A growing phenomenon which has pushed Hockey Quebec to consider portable mini cameras to protect referees and discourage violent acts.
The Minister of Sport believes that we have unfortunately reached this point. “It could be interesting,” agreed Thursday Isabelle Charest, on the sidelines of the caucus of CAQ elected officials who are meeting in Sherbrooke to prepare for the start of the parliamentary term. “Whether it’s security [aux abords des patinoires]whether it’s body cameras, there are lots of things that we have to consider because we’ve gotten to this point.”
Of course, this initiative involves costs, but must still be analyzed in light of the reprehensible behavior towards officials.
“It doesn’t make sense, it’s parents who are trying to educate their children and who are not capable of behaving like people. It’s crazy that we’re here,” insists the former speed skater.
The latter must soon table a bill to give more teeth to the Sports Safety Act. Minister Charest emphasizes that there is more and more violence against referees, coaches or even players not only on the ice, but also in other sports.
“At some point, we may have to crack down more, but obviously always in contact with the federations. Then once again, we talk a lot about hockey, but it’s not just in hockey,” insists Isabelle Charest.