By Julien Cabana
Snowmobile trails of Greater Québec City have without doubt welcomed their most famous snowmobiler last Friday when our prime minister, Mr Stephen Harper, went for a snowmobiling ride.
As usual, the prime minister was visiting Bonhomme Carnaval. He made a successful entrance at the Hôtel de Glace on his snowmobile, accompanied by many volunteers. Among them, we saw the president of the Fédération des clubs de motoneigistes du Québec, Serge Ritcher, the regional administrator of the Fédération, Mario Gagnon, the president of the club Les Aventuriers de Charlevoix, Raynald Harvey, the president of the club Le Sapin d’or, André Lachance, and Jean-Luc Sylvain who is dedicated to the snowmobile world since over 40 years.
We were aware of this ride, kept secret till the last minute. Even if Premier Harper did not agree to any interview, he seemed very satisfied with his experience. He has been very generous of his time with the volunteers who where present, by being photographed with them on many occasions.
A PRECIOUS FINANCIAL SUPPORT
During the last few years, Harper Government offered over 21 millions $ to Québec snowmobile clubs. It has been used to achieve 167 different projects like buying grooming machines, repair, improvement and maintenance of numerous trails.
Without this financial help, there is no doubt that Québec trails would be different in many regions. The money has been distributed through Développement économique du Canada (DEC), an organization under the responsability of Mr Denis Lebel, Conservative Member of Parliement for the Province of Québec. Mr Lebel has been involved in many snowmobile events of the Lac Saint-Jean region, where he was born, and he knows how important snowmobiling industry is to all regions of the province. In winter, snowmobilers are often the ones who keep the economy running in regions. With this snowmobile ride, Mr Lebel proved to the prime minister the great importance of the snowmobile industry, the implication of club volunteers and the appropriate use of the financial support received here. Now, we hope that next time, Mr Harper will ride a little longer on our trails to discover all the winter wonders snowmobiling can make us discover.
Photo Julien Cabana
In the lobby of Hôtel Sheraton, the prime minister Stephen Harper posed for us accompanied by the minister Denis Lebel, in front of this Bombardier model of the 60s.
Photo Julien Cabana
For this special ride, the canadian flag had been tied to the prime minister’s snowmobile.
Photo Julien Cabana
Many volunteers, exclusively selected, accompanied the prime minister on his ride. Extreme right, Jean-Luc Sylvain from the club Le Sapin d’or, at his right Raynald Harvey, president of Les Aventuriers de Charlevoix and the president of the Fédération des clubs de motoneigistes du Québec (FCMQ), Serge Ritcher.
Photo Courtoisie
The president of Club d’auto-neige Le Sapin d’or, André Lachance, with the prime minister Stephen Harper, during the private meeting with volunteers before the ride.
