Termination of the contract between the City of Joliette and the organization
© Photo L’Action – Mélissa Blouin
The archery ground on Boulevard Base-de-roc will soon be stripped of its targets.
CLOSING. At the last council meeting held on May 17, the City of Joliette resolved to terminate the agreement that existed between it and the Archery Club. The organization’s refusal to join the Quebec Archery Federation is at the origin of this conclusion. The Club is therefore forced to put an end to its activities on the ground which had been dedicated to it since 1958.
By refusing membership in the Federation, the Joliette Archery Club also refused to submit to a safety audit. “This audit would support the City and the Club in the application and compliance with the requirements for the safe practice of this sport and the maintenance of the current agreement,” said the City of Joliette in a press release. Faced with the difficulties raised by the administration of the Archery Club, the City says it has offered its support to the organization in its process of joining the Federation and becoming an NPO. She also claims to have offered to reimburse the costs inherent in this one for the citizens of Joliette who are members of the Club.
“The administrators of the Club have informed the City of their refusal to join the Fédération de tir à d’arc du Québec and to constitute themselves as an NPO, and thus to comply with the requirements of the City. They also informed the Town of the end of the Archery Club’s activities and of their intention to terminate the agreement between us. Although the City respects the decision of the administrators of the Club, it considers it a pity that its partnership ends and that the practice of archery is no longer offered to citizens on its territory, ”she concludes.
where the shock
However, the administrator Luc Lafortune was amazed at these words. If it is true to say that the Club refused to join the Federation, it maintains that it is totally false to say that the Club decided and wanted to end its agreement with the City and therefore even to its activities. “This process was done in a wild way. They took advantage of the pandemic and the closed-door sessions to pack us down, ”deplores Mr. Lafortune. According to him, the Archery Club has never had the opportunity to defend itself or to debate over the stages of this file. He maintains that he was not informed when the subject was put on the city’s agenda. Moreover, despite the offers made by the City, the Archery Club still doubts its good faith; the real issue being the magnitude of the administrative task that comes with parentage. Too much weight for the current administration.
“It’s a part of the city’s history that is going away, for no reason,” concludes Mr. Lafortune. The site was used as a competitive venue by archers from around the world for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The Archery Club will be taking steps over the next few months to assess the possibility of finding a land to relocate.
