Policy on Physical activity in laval

Policy on
Physical Activity
in Laval
at t h e h e a r t o f a c t i v e c o m m u n i t y l i f e
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transform the social norm with regard
t o pa r t i c i pat i o n i n p h y s i c a l a c t i v i t y
a n d t h e u s e o f p u b l i c s pa c e
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The beauty of a city is appreciated
not only by the quality of its
architecture, but also by the vitality
of its community. Such vitality is
expressed in the well-being felt by
residents and their families as they
engage in activities within public
space, when they play, when they
take part in a competition or when
they get around town by their own
means. In order to put our city on
the front lines of modern cities,
Ville de Laval has embarked on a
series of actions to become even
more people-oriented. Its policy
on physical activity is a key to this
objective. The guiding principles that
it is laying down will help us jointly
transform the social norm with
regard to participation in physical
activity and the use of public space,
which will be able to be developed
into a place where it will be only
normal to engage in physical activity
in a “feel-good” location.
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Regularly taking part in physical activity in a
favourable, inviting environment is a source
of enjoyment and an important factor in
improving health and preventing health
problems. From a community standpoint,
physical activity contributes toward social
development, community participation,
the creation of united communities as well
as the growth of tourism and the economy.
Regularly engaging in physical activity
promotes youngsters’ socialization and
academic success, increases self-esteem
and a sense of belonging. It helps alleviate
social and health problems, such as
overweight, obesity, malnutrition and
youth inactivity.
Active transportation, which is one of
the most natural forms of physical activity,
combines all the benefits. It also helps cut
down on pollution (noise, greenhouse
gases, etc.), relieve traffic congestion on the
road system and reduce fuel consumption.
It moreover fosters the development of a
more pleasant environment and helps make
pedestrians feel safer.
And lastly, the economic impact of physical
inactivity has been largely demonstrated:
it proves costly to individuals, companies
and society as a whole.
Ville de Laval is facing up to the realities
of our times, such as the aging of the
population, the break-up of traditional family
models, the diversification of life habits and
dependency on motor vehicles: That’s why
its action and services must better meet its
residents’ changing needs.
P o l i c y F o u n dat i o n s /
Physical activity
at the heart
of active
community life
The findings of many research studies have shown that regularly taking
part in physical activity provides benefits that significantly influence all
facets of quality of life, both individual and community life as well as
social life. And the positive impact on economic and environmental
aspects is recognized as well.
Laval wants to help residents adopt healthy
living habits and make physical activity
the basic component of active community
life. It recognizes the many spin-offs,
well beyond the mere expenditure of
energy: the adoption of better life habits,
the development of a more pleasant
environment, the elimination of dependency
on motor vehicles and knowledgeable
support from the various sports
participation levels.
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All means of non-motorized
Areas of Municipal Jurisdiction
transportation —
such as walking, cycling or
skateboarding, adopted for
useful purposes — are forms
Participation in leisure activities
Active
transportation
of active transportation.
Supervised physical activities and sports
Unsupervised
physical
activities
Introductory Recreational Competitive
Excellence
What is meant by
“physical activity”
We engage in physical activity when
we take part in various occupations of
day-to-day life:
• physical activity at home
(washing, gardening, etc.)
• physical activity related to work or studies
• active transportation
• physical activity during leisure time
This policy has been developed on the basis
of the last two facets of physical activity
— the only ones that come under
municipal jurisdiction:
• active transportation
• physical activity during leisure time
All means of non-motorized transportation
— such as walking, cycling or skateboarding,
adopted for useful purposes — are forms
of active transportation. Walking is the
universal form of active transportation.
In fact, it is within all residents’ reach,
to varying extents.
As for physical activities engaged in during
leisure time, the policy addresses:
• unsupervised activities (activities carried
out without the supervision of any staff
or without advance registration)
• supervised activities and sports
With regard to sports, Laval recognizes
the various levels of participation:
• introductory
• recreational
• competitive
• excellence
VisioN and Values /
Municipal vision
“In keeping with its mission, Ville de Laval wants to provide a physical, organizational and cultural environment
that fosters a physically active lifestyle and that will contribute toward the well-being of Laval residents
in their travels and leisure time activities, from recreational to excellence.”
Values
• Providing an environment that facilitates
and encourages the adoption of a physically
active lifestyle is a path to ensuring quality
of life. Laval believes that an environment
promoting an active life helps individuals,
and the community as a whole, reach their
full potential.
• Affirmation of pride in being a Laval resident
is reflected by a strong sense of belonging to
one’s district or neighbourhood, to one’s city
and to the organizations in which the
resident is involved. Laval believes that such
pride is based on residents’ individual and
collective responsibility to get involved and
contribute toward the development of the
community, in a sustainable way.
• Such intervention takes sustainable
development into account, where actions
continue to be in keeping with socio-cultural,
environmental and organizational values.
necessary for safely engaging in physical
activity within a user-friendly environment.
• All residents have the right and the
opportunity to engage in physical activity,
in all its forms. Laval believes in the principles
of equity and inclusion, which call for a
comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach
promoting the participation of all groups
of residents in Laval’s active life.
vision
• Ville de Laval is concerned about adequately
serving residents, by ensuring accessibility
to spaces, facilities and resources that are
MANY VALUES, ONE SINGLE
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Guiding
principles /
I n t e r v e n t i o n b a s e d o n pa r t n e r s h i p
The municipality is the
government authority that is
closest to the community, by the
very nature of its services;
moreover, very strong synergy
has been created between
the City, its partners and
community stakeholders.
Their input and involvement
is considerably contributing
toward the role that Laval has
to play.
For example, the City couldn’t demand that it manage participation in a sport, as this role
is the responsibility of a partner instead; however, it is commonly the main source of
funding when it comes to improving infrastructures, and it is entitled to control the use
thereof. The City must equitably share resources. It develops support and partnership
programs. It provides professional and technical support. It conciliates disputes. It provides
opportunities for participation in unsupervised activities and holding public events…
Consequently, as the middleman among all, it must assume a leadership role in order to
harmonize the contribution of everyone involved. The City is the leading stakeholder in
the overall development of participation in physical activities. Its role also requires that it
demand that the various authorities consult it when they are preparing to establish
standards for participation in physical activities involving the City; therefore, it is justified
in affirming its leadership, while integrating the indispensible contribution of the various
community stakeholders.
Moreover, in keeping with the role that it intends to play in the deployment of its physical
activity policy, the City is affirming its responsibility as architect and builder of public space
and is reiterating its commitment to act as the driving force behind the Laval dynamic with
regard to physical activity.
These two municipal responsibilities must come within its management of the development
of participation in physical activity on its territory and form its first guiding principle:
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Laval, mastermind of the development of participation in physical activity
However, at the same time, the Laval dynamic can be fully articulated only provided that joint
action forms the core of this policy. Such joint action will also be able to ensure the pooling
and coordination of actions in relation to physical activity.
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Partnership and joint action
Laval promotes partnerships, not only by creating ties between public and private institutions,
but also by proposing the establishment of structured joint-action forums.
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A structured, integrated approach
To implement its policy and fulfil its commitment to proceed through joint action and
partnerships, Ville de Laval is advocating a structured, integrated approach where everything
must be carefully planned and, above all, harmonized between the various stakeholders.
Just like an orchestra conductor, the City must make sure with the community and institutional
partners concerned that the implementation of its physical activity policy, starting with
the development of the action plan, comes within the same spirit of cohesion.
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Authorities /
To carry out this project, two levels of intervention are proposed: At the first level, two bodies that have already been set up have
an advisory role to play: the committee managing the Agreement on healthy living habits (Comité de gestion de l’Entente sur les
saines habitudes de vie) and the Board of Directors of Sports Laval. It is through the input of these two advisory bodies that Laval
intends to maintain the collaboration and contribution of the main stakeholders concerned with physical activity. Their basic
role consists of submitting their recommendations to the second level of intervention: the physical activity council (Conseil de
l’activité physique).
It is through this physical activity council
that actions are recommended to the
Executive Committee and City Council.
Chaired by a member of the City’s Executive
Committee, the physical activity council
acts as City Council’s representative in
physical activity circles. It is also this
physical activity council that has the
responsibility of acting as guardian of
the physical activity policy and ensuring
that physical activity remains within the
City’s master plan in order to guarantee it
an important place in all municipal services.
To help them in accomplishing their
mandate, the physical activity council and
the two advisory bodies are assisted by
working committees made up of people
grouped together according to their area
of expertise and jurisdiction. Each of these
committees is coordinated by a professional
from Ville de Laval’s Service de la vie communautaire, de la culture et des communications
(SVCCC), which has the mandate of
maintaining an open, permanent dialogue
with community and municipal services
stakeholders.
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Unifying Objectives /
For an Environment
Conducive to
Physical Activity
Ensuring mobilization, developing new habits, changing rules, modifying the physical
environment—the success of such a project requires combined action in each of the
“spaces” of community life where the City has an influence and an ability to intervene
— the physical space, the cultural space and the organizational space.
Physical space
The physical space is made up of private
property and public space. The municipality
has an influence over private property only
through its bylaws.
As for public space, it is made up of public
roadways (streets), parks and public squares,
green and blue spaces, playgrounds and
outdoor sports grounds, public buildings
and indoor sports infrastructures.
The City recognizes the importance of places
to engage in physical activity in setting up an
environment that is conducive to a physically
active lifestyle. Moreover, with regard to
physical space, Ville de Laval wants to have:
• a multi-purpose physical space with a
sufficient number of quality facilities near
living environments
• a physical space where the notion of
universal accessibility will be promoted,
supported and developed
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Cultural space
Organizational space
Cultural space is the one that defines and
motivates us. Here is where our values lie
— what we are passionate about, our
beliefs, our leanings, our tastes, our desire
to participate in major public events.
It is here, as well, where our social models
appear or disappear. It is in this space that
the norm is defined, but also where it is
constantly being changed.
It is to the presence of systems of many
kinds that we owe an organized form of
life. Organizational space consists of rules
and laws, political systems and economic
systems. It is here that the degree of
accessibility of an activity is evaluated from
an economic standpoint. And it is here
that partnerships with institutions, private
partners and non-profit organizations are
developed and appreciated.
Respectful of individuals and their personal
responsibilities, Laval recognizes residents
as autonomous and master of their own
destiny. It recognizes and also stresses
the importance of individual contributions
to the well-being of the community;
consequently, the City will intervene in
cultural space to:
• develop, among Laval residents,
the culture of enjoyment and well-being
that comes from being physically active
• encourage aspirations and the desire
to be physically active in a user-friendly
environment
• recognize and support individual and
collective success and commitment on
the part of residents and athletes.
Blessed with a vast network of partners,
the City wants to pursue this invaluable
relationship cultivated for many years and
is striving to strengthen these special ties.
Such joint action and partnerships make it
possible to offer a wide range of services to
all Laval residents; consequently, with regard
to organizational space, Laval wants to:
• provide residents with municipal bylaws,
a framework for participation in physical
activity and services that foster regular and
equitable participation in physical activity
and active transportation
• recognize partners’ importance and value,
support their actions and, together with
them, provide diversified, accessible,
quality services
Each commitment on the part of the
City calls for actions in one of the three
spaces of municipal intervention.
And for an action to be efficient and
effective in a given space, there must
also be an intervention in the other two
spaces: For example, it is not sufficient to
promote active means of transportation
among youngsters (cultural space)
in order to motivate them to go to school
on foot. It must also be ensured that
the physical space is suitable and that
a program, or the intervention of a third
party (organizational space), carries out
this change. The actions implemented
will have to be taken in each of the three
spaces in order to transform the City into
an environment that fosters a physically
active lifestyle.
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Guidelines /
Laval’s diagnostic examination of participation in physical activity brings to light a complex portrait of the
situation, due to the fact that the range of municipal actions required is very vast: actions implemented in
the public space and those taken by the City among the residents and its partners. There is a lot to be done
— from developing the public roadway to setting up specialized sports grounds; from bylaws to joint action,
from concrete ways of promoting daily walking to support for athletes to win a gold medal.
The higher levels of government, agencies
and many non-governmental organizations
are carrying out sustained efforts with
residents to prompt them to adopt better
life habits. Numerous programs have been
designed to promote and enhance the
value of an active life. Ville de Laval as well
as several of its partners have also developed
incentives and programs to motivate all
residents to adopt healthy living habits.
It is therefore not very surprising to note,
among the population, a collective
awareness of the problems of being
sedentary and overweight. Nevertheless,
we note a significant decrease in participation
in physical activity, and particularly among
adolescents and adults. Two-thirds of the
population aren’t active enough. More and
more, children are brought to school or to
the soccer field by car. The islanders that
we are make very little use of the rivers to
play actively. And it isn’t because the Laval
community doesn’t like to have fun.
Laval wants to set up mechanisms promoting
a physically active lifestyle as well as measures
that increase the awareness of residents and
1. The development
of an active life
culture
all stakeholders, non-profit organizations,
institutions and businesses about taking part
in unsupervised forms of physical activity
within the public space.
• enhancing the prestige of high-level
athletes, and especially regional ones,
in order to reinforce their role as models
and promoters of physical activity
Laval is committed to:
• increasing the standing of residents who
adopt a physically active lifestyle
• increasing the awareness of socio-economic
stakeholders, municipal services and
residents with regard to the value of a
physically active lifestyle
• organizing or supporting the organization
of major mobilizing events that promote
participation in physical activity
• improving shared use of the public roadway
for universal and more enjoyable use of
active means of transportation
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Guidelines /
2. Diversified,
equitable & universal
opportunities
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Every year, there are nearly
38,000 registrations in youth
activities. In Laval, there are
90,000 youngsters under 17 years
old. The statistics inform us about
the rate of participation in
supervised activities; however,
we still don’t have a good picture
of the situation regarding
participation in unsupervised
physical activity and the
challenges it poses to certain
groups of residents.
Finding out about residents’ current practices
and needs is one of the challenges that
this policy must meet so that services and
facilities correspond. A vast reflection
process must be undertaken with regard
to the resources allocated to unsupervised
forms of physical activity, based on its scope
within the population.
At the same time, the various constraints
regarding participation in physical activity
must be considered: availability of
infrastructures and sports grounds, user
fees, schedules and transportation facilities,
accessibility of the public roadway for
active transportation. These aspects must
be structured so as to meet the needs of all
segments of the population, regardless of
residents’ gender, age, physical condition
or living environment.
We must carry out studies and assessments
to determine residents’ needs; we must
diversify and provide an opportunity for
continuity in residents’ participation in
physical activity, in order to meet their desire
for as much as they feel like or wish for in
this regard. We must expand the range of
activities offered that can be engaged in
without supervision and at lesser cost by all
residents. We must offer a variety of proximity
services and programs that suit all segments
of the population; we must offer services
also promoting all levels of participation,
from the introductory level to the
excellence level. We must reduce participation
constraints related to comfort, schedules,
accessibility, etc. We must ensure democratic
access to the public roadway.
Laval is committed to:
• increasing its understanding of residents’
needs, tastes and tendencies, identifying
the barriers, constraints and obstacles
standing in the way of regular participation
in physical activity
• evaluating the use and development of
the public roadway of today and tomorrow,
so as to promote active means of transportation and make them more attractive
• fostering a diversified range of opportunities
and high-quality areas designed for
physical activity that are adapted to
the community
• maintaining and promoting equitable
accessibility of physical activities at
introductory and recreational levels
and located near living environments
• supporting the emergence of new ways
for residents to engage in physical activity
Guidelines /
3. High-quality
facilities
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and development designed to promote
participation in physical activities
In Laval, there are more than 200 outdoor spaces, waterfront areas, parks and playgrounds.
Are they suitable for the use that we want to make of them? Are they sufficient and
accessible? Can residents take advantage of them in their everyday lives, near where they
live? Are there other public spaces where they can engage in physical activity? Can children,
by themselves, get to the playgrounds and sports grounds where they like to go? Is the
street user-friendly? Does it make people want to walk and use active means of transportation?
Laval has a good many sports facilities, whether belonging to the school network, to the
private sector or to the City itself. Nevertheless, it has fewer sports facilities than the average
of other comparable cities. The existing facilities sometimes require maintenance work,
renovations or upgrading to meet standards. Some facilities may be lacking, requiring
residents to go very far for their training.
The physical activity policy recommends the development of a universally accessible,
multi-purpose and user-friendly environment for taking part in physical activity as well
as quality facilities located close to living environments. It wants to promote regional
autonomy in matters relating to sports infrastructures and the redeployment of private
sites for public purposes.
Laval is committed to:
• setting up parks as well as green and blue
spaces with equipment and facilities for
physical activity
• improving service roads for cycling and
walking as well as service roads for other
means of active transportation
• setting up and developing more natural
spaces for unsupervised physical activity
• setting up sports infrastructures that take
into account the specificities of high-level
participation in physical activity and that
can accommodate large-scale events
• developing and optimizing infrastructures
that allow for active use of rivers
Guidelines /
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4. An organization
and a regulatory
framework
that promote
physical
activity
and active
transportation
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Public space is intended
for residents. Some spaces are
used for physical and leisure
activities and their layout is
designed for such purposes.
At what locations are they
needed in the community?
What is necessary to
maintain them?
Other spaces are used for transportation purposes, whether for work, school, everyday tasks or
leisure activities. Making the various users harmoniously share public space safely and without
any discrimination in relation to age, gender, physical or social condition requires complex
discretion. Such arbitration must be carried out in keeping with all residents’ right to access the
public roadway. First and foremost, it requires reflection on the part of the groups likely to use
the space, so as not to exclude any of them.
In a quiet neighbourhood of Laval, where the supermarket is just a few blocks away,
what might prompt residents to go there on foot or by bike rather than by car? How about
youngsters and their parents who play in the street?
Some people travel along the public streets on a skateboard — sometimes on the road and
sometimes on the sidewalk, depending on which is more inviting to them. As for bikeways,
they sometimes provide exclusive right-of-way and sometimes are located along the curb.
In some neighbourhoods, all streets have sidewalks, while in others, only boulevards and
collector roads do. Despite the efforts invested to date, and although streets are public,
access to them may pose a problem to some users.
The policy on physical activity calls for working toward reducing the constraints hindering
active means of transportation. This policy aims to propose public roadways promoting active
means of transportation and leisure physical activity. The policy wants to ensure a favourable
regulatory framework and a framework that is conducive to engaging in physical activity.
Laval is committed to:
• promoting bylaws, urban planning and
the development of neighbourhoods that
foster active transportation
• promoting the development of public
squares
• developing a master plan for parks, green
and blue spaces and recreational facilities
• drawing up a development plan based
on proximity, popularity, costs, tendencies,
versatility and needs with regard to
natural spaces
• establishing a plan for preventive
maintenance and upgrading infrastructures
to meet standards
• developing an active mobility plan
• regulating traffic and implementing traffic
calming measures
• revising municipal bylaws so as to prompt
establishments to provide for secure
parking spaces and facilities for cyclists
• fostering the versatility and
complementarity of places for engaging
in physical activity
• promoting the development of outdoor
locations that are accessible all year round
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l e a d e r s h i p i s i m p o r ta n t
and must harmonize the
various interventions
Guidelines /
5. Joint action
and partnership
action
A number of authorities from community, educational, public and private organizations
intervene at various levels or in various ways in matters relating to physical activity;
consequently, leadership is important and must harmonize the various interventions.
The City intends to continue providing and furthering such leadership.
Through its physical activity policy, Laval wants to officially recognize the importance
of partnerships and sharing responsibilities in order to optimize physical activity options
and maximize the use of resources. It intends to maintain its involvement in joint actions
and will do whatever is necessary to ensure joint management of the development
of physical activity, by establishing good communication between the partners.
The City fosters intervention between partners by means of agreements and official joint
action bodies.
Laval is committed to:
• maintaining and developing agreements
with educational institutions in order to
optimize public accessibility
• supporting links between community
organizations and schools so that residents
can participate in physical activity
• proposing and taking opportunities to
enter into partnerships aimed at improving
conditions for residents to participate in
physical activity
• promoting exchanges between institutional
partners with regard to their projects
to build structures to be used for
infrastructures or for the complementarity
of their actions
• setting up, with its partners, a planning
and coordination mechanism to develop
residents’ participation in all phases of
physical activity, up to sports excellence
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Volunteers
and various
s ta k e h o l d e r s
in the fields of
physical activity and
sports deserve to
be respected
and recognized
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Guidelines /
6. Strong support for
volunteering and
organizations
Volunteers and various stakeholders in the fields of physical activity and sports deserve
to be respected and recognized for their work. Through collaborative efforts, they provide
opportunities for many activities.
In fact, intervention in this field, especially for activities that require supervision, is largely
dependent upon the people who work within the various organizations, whether they are
in charge of planning, managing, carrying out or supervising programs and activities.
The role played on the territory by volunteers, coaches, officials, professionals and administrators
must be supported.
This policy wants to foster — but also to encourage and support — the commitment of
organizations and volunteers that form an integral part of the physical, sports and outdoor
activities that are offered in our city. Beyond the activities held to express thanks to them all,
such as the Volunteer Tribute evening, the City wants to highlight such efforts by increasing
the various types of support (customized training, resource baskets, freebies, etc.).
Because it would like community stakeholders and organizations to take charge of the
physical activities offered to residents, the City wants to recognize regional associations
or sports clubs as being in charge of the development of their respective sports, but also as
a main partner of the municipality.
Laval is committed to:
• maintaining financial, professional
and technical support for community
organizations
• increasing promotion of the services
and programs offered by its partners
• supporting the action of its partners
who offer diversified services
• maintaining and increasing ways
and means of showing appreciation
for volunteers’ contribution to active
community organizations
• supporting the supervision, training and
development of volunteers in order to
improve the quality of their interventions
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turning
L ava l’ s P o l i c y o n P h y s i c a l A c t i v i t y i s ava n t - g a r d e
a n d t r u ly u n i q u e.
g
conclusion /
The foundations and values that the
Policy on Physical Activity supports will
definitely channel the energies needed to
create an environment that fosters active
community life.
Masterminding the development of
participation in physical activity on its
territory, Ville de Laval is aware of the fact that
achieving this objective is linked, in particular,
to a solid, sustainable partnership and joint
action at both the institutional and
community levels. In this regard,
a consultation process has already made it
possible for partners and residents to have
an influence on the contents of the present
Policy on Physical Activity.
All the stakeholders called upon in this regard
agree with the guidelines that have been
adopted and that will serve as a beacon for
setting up an environment that promotes
participation in physical activity.
These guidelines will also serve as a blueprint
for the discussions of the physical activity
council and the advisory bodies, who will see
to it that concrete actions are undertaken
within a realistic time frame.
In developing this policy, the City has taken
up the challenge of identifying the major,
unifying issues: Residents had to feel that this
new framework will influence and effectively
promote participation in physical activity.
It was just as essential that the policy meet
with the agreement of all residents, regardless
of whether they engage in physical activity
in a supervised or unsupervised setting.
It is now up to each and every one of us to
take the next step in order to benefit from
this change in direction toward an active life.
We are bound to feel all the better as a result
of this “good turn” in the interest of our health.
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Glossary /
There are four levels of participation
in physical activity:
Introductory:
First contact with participation in a sport
Recreational:
Participation in a sport not for the eventual
purpose of competition
Competition:
Participation in a sport at a very advanced
level, for competitive purposes
Excellence:
Participation in a sport at a very advanced
level, for competitive purposes, nationally
and internationally
Unsupervised physical activity:
This term refers to physical activity carried out without any supervision by qualified staff
on site nor any registration prior to engaging in such physical activity.
Active transportation:
Any means of non-motorized transportation, such as walking, cycling, inline skating,
skateboarding or canoeing, for a useful purpose. Walking is the universal form of active
transportation: all residents have recourse to it, to varying extents.
Sport:
A physical activity defined by a set of rules that regulate it
Public space:
In human societies and, above all, in urban ones, public space represents all the spaces
of passage and gathering that are used by everyone and that come under the public
domain or, exceptionally, under the private domain. The spaces more particularly allocated
to transportation are sometimes defined as being the public roadway.
Healthy living habits:
A physically active lifestyle that includes good nutrition. This lifestyle is a determining factor
for health, as recommended by Canada’s Food Guide and the Québec government.
Sedentariness:
A lifestyle involving minimal physical activity or reduced mobility during the greater part of the
day. Typical of modern civilizations (especially western ones) and detrimental to physical and
mental health.
Sport:
A sport is a series of exercises — most often physical ones — that are carried out in the form
of single-player or group games that may lead up to competitions. Frequently combined
with physical activity, a sport is a “physical activity that consists of structured situations
determined by rules and involving competition”.
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Acknowledgements/
The Policy on Physical Activity has been
developed through consultation and joint
action with a great many stakeholders
in the community, without whom it
couldn’t have materialized. We wish to
express our heartfelt thanks to all
participants for their determination,
their enthusiasm and their knowledgeable
comments. Thanks to them, the Laval
community has equipped itself with the
first tool for guiding the transformation
of our living environment… in a city that
will be a wonderful place for being
physically active.
The steering committee:
The diagnosis prior to writing this policy
was established in cooperation with the
Conseil régional en loisir et en sport of the
Conférence régionale des élus, Sports Laval,
the Association régionale de loisirs pour
personnes handicapées de Laval and the
Direction de santé publique of the Agence de
la santé et des services sociaux de Laval.
The major partners that played a role in
developing this policy:
Centre de santé et de services sociaux
de Laval
Collège Montmorency
Commission scolaire de Laval
Conférence régionale des élus de Laval
Commission régionale en loisir et en sport
Corporation de développement
communautaire de Laval
Ministère de la Famille et des Aînés
Québec en Forme
Organizations that
submitted an opinion:
Organizations that took part
in the consultation:
Association des résidents de Champfleury
Association des résidents du Manoir
Saint-Martin
Association des retraités de l’éducation
du Québec (AREQ 10J–Laval-Nord)
Association québécoise des retraité(e)s
des secteurs public et parapublic
Association des résidents de Résidence Soleil
Association régionale de basketball de Laval
Association régionale de basketball de Laval
Centre de santé et de services sociaux
de Laval
Association régionale de soccer de Laval
Centre du Sablon
Centre de santé et de services sociaux
de Laval
Club de natation Laval
Centre du Sablon
Comité d’animation du troisième âge
de Laval
Comité d’animation du troisième âge
de Laval
Direction de santé publique of the Agence
de la santé et des services sociaux de Laval
Club de pétanque Val-des-Arbres
Fédération de baseball amateur du Québec /
région de Laval
Football – Blues de Chomedey
Deltas de Laval
Garde côtière auxiliaire canadienne
Extrême de Laval
Groupe de réflexion de la Place des aînés
Garde côtière auxiliaire canadienne
Hockey luge Laval
Groupe de réflexion de la Place des aînés
Le Cercle de fermières Laval-des-Rapides
Groupe Promo Santé de Laval
Les Clubs 4-H du Québec
Jeun’Est en forme
Les Coureurs de boisés Vimont-Auteuil
Les Clubs 4-H du Québec
Loisirs Bon-Pasteur
Place des aînés
Loisirs Saint-Urbain
Regroupement Chomedey en forme
Place des aînés
Regroupement Forme ta vie
Relais communautaire de Laval
Relais communautaire de Laval
Tourisme Laval
Sports Laval
Tennis Laval
Tourisme Laval
And lastly, we wish to extend special thanks to the many residents who voluntarily
participated in the consultation process and who enriched the policy with their perspective.
33
photos and credits /
Cover
Cyclist: depositphotos.com / rcaucino
Senior: depositphotos.com / andresr
Wheelchair basketball: Sylvain Majeau
Page 18
depositphotos.com / alexraths
Page 21
depositphotos.com / get4net
Boy in park: depositphotos.com / get4net
Girl swimming: Photo Pépé
Girl riding bike: www.sxh.hu / januszek
Page 22
depositphotos.com / jukai5
Page 2
F. Bellomo
Pages 24-25
Photo Pépé
Page 5
Alarie Photos
Page 26
depositphotos.com /monkeybusiness
Page 8-9
www.sxc.hu / plrang
Pages 28-29
Photo Pépé
Page 11
Photo Pépé
Page 30
Jacynthe Robillard
Page 12
depositphotos.com / Aptyp_koK
Page 32
Vincent Girard
Page 14
www.sxh.hu / januszek
Pages 34-35
depositphotos.com / aremafoto
Page 16
depositphotos.com / andresr
PRODUCTION AND SOURCE
Written by: the Bureau de l’activité physique
team, with the collaboration of representatives
from Laval’s organizations and the coordination
of Ville de Laval’s Service de la vie communautaire,
de la culture et des communications
The authors wish to express special thanks to
Richard Auger for his extensive assistance in
developing the Policy on Physical Activity.
Graphic design and computer graphics:
Division des communications et des relations
avec les médias
Production: Division des communications
et des relations avec les médias
Printer: BL Litho inc.
ISBN 978-2-923478-67-8
Legal deposit – Bibliothèque et Archives
nationales du Québec, 2012