The organizers of the first friendly and inclusive business tournament in the La Côte-de-Gaspé region, held on April 14 and 15, 2023 in Gaspé (Rivière-au-Renard), have donated the tournament's profits to a local organization. For this pilot project, $4,700 was donated to the Association du Hockey mineur de Forillon, and a symbolic donation of $500 to the Centre d'aide et de lutte aux agressions à caractère sexuel (CALACS La Bôme Gaspésie) to support victims of sexual assault and raise community awareness of the importance of talking about this problem, which is still too prevalent in various environments.
From left to right: Danick Mainville of the Sûreté du Québec, Éric O'Connor of the Association du Hockey mineur de Forillon, Guylaine Poirier of CALACS La Bôme-Gaspésie, Kevin Denis of the Sûreté du Québec and Marie-Claude Brière of the Chambre de commerce de La Côte-de-Gaspé (CCCG). Photo: CCCG.
This first tournament is an initiative of the Sûreté du Québec and the Côte-de-Gaspé Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Ville de Gaspé, the Association du Hockey mineur de Forillon, the Corsaires de Forillon, the Fondation Santé Côte-de-Gaspé, the figure skating club Les Sylphides and Hobby Empire.
The objectives of this first tournament were to:
The tournament provided an opportunity for several organizations with little or no contact with each other in their usual operations. Some of the eight (8) teams that took part in the event were created by the twinning of several companies. Over 300 people came through the doors of the Rosaire-Tremblay sports center, and the puck was dropped by field hockey enthusiast and near-centenarian, retired entrepreneur Jacques Plourde of Rivière-au-Renard.
Participating teams 2023
1 - Sûreté du Québec + Hydro-Québec
2 - LM Wind Power Gaspé + Rénovation CM inc.
3 - Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts + Groupement forestier coopératif de la Péninsule
4 - Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles, Campus Gaspé + WSP
5 - Centre de services scolaires des Chic-Chocs (Winner final B)
6 - CISSS de la Gaspésie (Winner final A, see photo)
7 - City of Gaspé + LesPêcheries gaspésiennes
8 - Bistro-Bar le Brise-Bise + Dixie Lee Rivière-au-Renard
The organizers hope that this tournament will become a tradition. Following the results of this first edition, a process will be put in place to identify beneficiary organizations for future years.
Tournament photo album (on the Côte-de-Gaspé Chamber of Commerce Facebook page)
Source and information:
La Côte-de-Gaspé Chamber of Commerce
Marie-Claude Brière
E-mail: direction@commercecotedegaspe.org
Telephone: 418 361-5899
About the Sûreté du Québec
The adoption of the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Sûreté du Québec. Proud and strong of its roots, the fulfillment of its mission continues to rely on its relationship of trust with citizens. With this in mind, our 2020-2023 vision reflects our commitment to cultivating this bond: the Sûreté is committed to listening to citizens, and continues to implement proactive strategies to offer services tailored to their concerns and the realities of our communities. Maintaining a safe environment for citizens is at the heart of the Sûreté's mission. Increased contact of various kinds between police officers and citizens nurtures the bond of trust between these two parties. What's more, the key to increasing the organization's presence in the communities it serves lies in the involvement of police officers in prevention. In fact, prevention programs such as youth awareness campaigns on subjects like online sexual exploitation, or interventions aimed at preventing elder abuse, fraud and mistreatment, enable citizens to take back control of their own safety, and strengthen the bond of trust between them and the police.
About the La Côte-de-Gaspé Chamber of Commerce
The mission of the Côte-de-Gaspé Chamber of Commerce is to listen, represent and defend the interests of our members through actions adapted to their needs and the current socio-economic reality; to support and serve members through a range of services (and this is the case for this tournament); to bring together and celebrate the Côte-de-Gaspé business community through networking events and quality training, taking into account our entire territory.
About theForillon Minor Hockey Association
The goals of the organization are to promote, coordinate and organize amateur ice hockey in the towns and municipalities between Grande-Vallée and Coin du Banc (Percé), including Murdochville. The organization is constituted to pursue the objectives of governing ice hockey for its individual members, supervising ice hockey practitioners for all categories of participants, sanctioning sports competitions between amateur ice hockey athletes, and implementing and operating the mechanisms necessary to fulfill its mandate.
About CALACS Center d'aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel (CALACS)
The Centre d'aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel (CALACS) La Bôme-Gaspésie is a community organization that offers help, support and accompaniment to victims of sexual assault aged 14 and over, and to their loved ones. CALACS offers direct assistance, prevention and awareness-raising services, as well as participating in struggles, demands and political action to put an end to sexual violence.
CALACS services are confidential, free and bilingual.
