On February 27, the National Assembly officially adopted Bill 90, an Act to recognize ice hockey as the national sport of Quebec and respecting national cultural references. The subject inspired this week's question from the Neomedia team. 

The bill responds to the first recommendation of the Comité québécois sur le développement du hockey, which came out of its report ‘Hockey, Our Passion’ published in 2022, namely to elevate ice hockey to the rank of Quebec's national sport.

The adoption of this bill by the elected members of the National Assembly recognises the historic importance of ice hockey and the significant place the sport occupies in Quebec's culture and identity, as well as making the first Saturday in February National Ice Hockey Day.

 ‘I am very proud of the adoption of this bill, which will enable us to give our national sport formal recognition. Hockey is the sport that brings us together and makes us feel all kinds of emotions. This adoption is all the more significant as we are just a few days away from celebrating 150 years since the first ice hockey game was played in Quebec. With this legislation, we are fostering a sense of pride among Quebecers,’ said Mathieu Lacombe, Minister of Culture and Communications.

The Act also introduces the concept of a ‘national cultural referent’ within the Cultural Heritage Act, i.e. ‘an element of Quebec culture forged in tradition, which characterizes and evokes in a unique way an aspect of Quebec's cultural identity, constitutes a benchmark widely shared by individuals in society, such as ice hockey. In this way, it provides the government with more resources to raise awareness and promote Quebec's cultural symbols.

Historically, Quebec was the scene of the emergence of modern ice hockey in the 1870s, and of the first official match in the sport's history, on March 3, 1875. The emergence of modern ice hockey is therefore a major contribution by Quebec to the world history of sport.

This week's question was: Do you approve of Quebec designating hockey as its national sport?

The choices were as follows: 

- Yes, absolutely: 25%`;

- I think there are more important issues to deal with: 12.5%; 

- I thought hockey was already our national sport: 62.5%; 

And what about you? What's your opinion on the subject? To answer, click on this link.