August 27, 2014 (Quebec City, QC) – A policy change directed by the new provincial government in Quebec has the director of the provincial federation concerned about the survival of major cycling events there. Louis Barbeau, director of the FQSC, confirmed that the provincial police are now charging major cycling events for the costs of providing motorcycle escorts and other services. These costs might vary from $15,000 for a gran fondo event to $40,000 for the road nationals (held this year in Lac Megantic).

“I have talked with the SQ (Quebec provincial police) and they are not decided. They’re simply applying what they’ve been told. They don’t want events to be cancelled; the police enjoy being with our events. There will be a meeting in the fall with all concerned,” said Barbeau, referring to the FQSC, the SQ, and the Quebec Ministry of Transportation (MTQ). While obviously concerned, his language was not alarmist.

“This is a concern; we are looking at solutions such as providing our own security on motorcycles (something that has already been done for certain cycling events). The question is: how can we manage our events?”

Barbeau suggested that there should be a distinction made between different types of events, sporting events versus popular events and fundraising versus races. He pointed out that the situation is different whether 200 or 2,000 cyclists are involved. Barbeau also confirmed that at least one Quebec gran fondo was cancelled when confronted with the prospect of a $15,000 invoice; a gran fondo planned for the Lac Megantic area in September was cancelled for this reason. Barbeau mentioned that the Tour de Beauce is also an area of particular concern.

Since the election of the Liberals in April, 2014, there have been some new austerity measures coming into effect. While Barbeau was uncertain of the exact cost of providing a motorcycle policeman for an event, he suggested the hourly cost could be $120. Such costs obviously have potential for becoming very expensive for multi-day events.

“Many of the SQ and MTQ guys have been on holiday this summer; it’s been difficult to schedule something, but they are aware that FQSC wants to meet with them. We want to look at scenarios. There should be a meeting in mid September and I hope to announce some news by the time of the FQSC Annual General Meeting in early November. We need to see the possibilities and I don’t want to foresee the decision. They want solutions and we want to maintain our calendar for 2015…”.

Pedal also contacted Greg Mathieu, CEO and Secretary General at Cycling Canada on this matter. “At this point we are aware that the plans for next year’s Canadian Road Championships may need to be revised due to the Quebec Provincial government’s new policy relative to the SQ services. We are working with the FQSC to determine the extent of the impact of this policy to road racing in the province.”

Pedal understands that the WorldTour races in Quebec City and Montreal this September are not directly affected by this SQ policy change; it is municipal police who work with these two events. The mass participation “cyclosportive” rides peripheral to the Grand Prix Cyclistes de Quebec and Montreal are presumably affected, however. We have yet heard back from GPCQM WorldTour races.

It is also unclear how the organizers of other major cycling events (i.e. Velo Quebec’s La Petite Aventure, various rides to beat cancer, etc) expect to deal with these new policies.