MINUTES – PUBLIC MEETING – YOUTH COMMISSION – 1st meeting 2025 – January 18, 2025 – 1:01 p.m. to 3:54 p.m.

4.1 Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, Mayor of the City of Gatineau: Towards a Youth Summit and the 25th Anniversary of the Youth Commission

As 2025 is a special year for the Commission jeunesse as it will celebrate its 25th anniversary, there will be a Youth Summit in the month of April and municipal elections in the month of November, the mayor is present to meet with the members and discuss with them. A roundtable is held among the members of the Commission jeunesse so that they can introduce themselves, and a period of questions and exchanges takes place. The mayor explains her career path from municipal councillor to mayor of the City of Gatineau; she reminds the members that their participation in the Commission jeunesse will bring them a lot of experience for later and that they are the next generation. She also highlights the importance of exercising one's right to vote and the difference that the voice of young people makes during an election in order to avoid letting other generations decide for them. She also wishes to be invited to the 25th anniversary of the Cj and the Youth Summit. A tour of the Mayor's Office takes place.

Break from 2:10 p.m. to 2:22 p.m.

4.2 Presentation by the Recreation, Sports and Community Development Department: Reflection on the Outdoor Rink Deployment Plan

Marc-Olivier Bouchard, from the Recreation, Sports and Community Development Department, comes to consult the members of the Commission jeunesse in order to know their wishes and needs regarding outdoor rinks/ice surfaces on the territory of the city of Gatineau. The City has 84 rinks on its territory and with winters getting warmer, it is difficult to keep them open adequately. 24 of them are maintained by community organizations and 2 by contractors, 10 have premises available to citizens to put on their skates, and 2 sites offer equipment loans.

A series of questions is asked to the members to know their opinion regarding: • usage; • communication and information; • services that the different rinks should offer, by service level; • refrigerated rinks: for or against?

In summary, the members go skating with their families and friends. They seem to use local rinks more and would like more equipment loans on-site. The lack of equipment, lack of time, and the distance to travel to get to a rink, especially in the east of the city, can be a barrier to practicing the activity. The installation of several benches and picnic tables would allow people to put on and take off their skates easily. The installation of toilets, trash cans, lights for evening skating, a cabin to warm up, hot drink vending machines, and a fast-food stand (BeaverTails style) would also be incentives. Making hockey goals, shovels for clearing snow as needed, skating aid chairs, surplus mittens and toques, lockers, and music available to users would make the experience more pleasant and accessible.

The members propose to do more advertising regarding open rinks; navigating the City of Gatineau website can be complicated. The use of different arenas is preferred since the schedule is easier to consult and the quality of the ice is better. Posting signs regarding the opening of rinks in schools and on outdoor poles could be useful since younger people do not always have access to social media. It is proposed to advertise on news channels and in local newspapers. It is raised that the issue of using the ice when it is not yet ready, which ultimately deteriorates the state of the rink, is not known to all citizens. The installation of colored flags, like at the beach, on the rink site itself or plastic signs hung on the boards indicating whether it is open or closed could help. It is suggested to see with the different hockey associations if they would like to work on certain ice surfaces to have full access, leaving other ice surfaces to skaters. It is also suggested to open 2 or 3 rinks in the same locations and classify them from beginner to advanced. It is desired to better distribute ice surfaces on the territory of the city of Gatineau. Currently, there are more in the west. It is asked if there is a possibility to skate on the waterway near Baie-McLaurin.

Regarding refrigerated rinks, despite their costs, they could be used in the summer as a baseball field, ball hockey, pickleball, tennis, skatepark with removable structures, and to hold events sheltered from the rain, such as public markets. It would also be necessary to purchase a Zamboni. It is mentioned that having removable boards could be interesting.

Next Steps

Currently in the consultation process with different commissions and internally, there will then be public consultations during the winter, the presentation of the final plan proposal to the Recreation, Sports and Community Development Commission in May 2025, and its adoption in the winter of 2025-2026 by the municipal council.