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By: Robert Janis
Provincial
Federations Share Experiences through the All
Terrain Quad Council of Canada
As individuals growing up, we all learn by
experience or trial and error. However, as we
get older and the decisions we make are more
crucial to us and also involves others, then it
is wise to seek advice from people with
experience.
You could say that is the premise of the All
Terrain Quad Council of Canada (AQCC), a group
whose sole purpose is to provide a resource for
the seven provincial ATV federations that
consists its membership.
AQCC was formed by the seven provinces that had
a Provincial ATV rider federation in 2004. That
included British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and
Newfoundland-Labrador.
Today all 10 provinces are AQCC members and AQCC
is a member of the National Off-Highway
Conservation Council (NOHVCC) in the U.S., which
expands the group’s resource base. “The
provincial rider federation is the member and
each member appoints a proxy from their
federation to attend meetings, act on and vote
for issues of concern to ATV riders at meetings
whether electronic or face-to-face,” explained
Ray Gouthro, president of AQCC. “In addition,
the proxies are appointed to the AQCC Board of
Directors.” About seven meetings are held each
year via conference call with an annual general
meeting in September. The annual meeting is held
in a different province each year. The 2009
conference will be held in Quebec.
“As an infant, we are in the process of
developing, but it is our goal to represent the
ATV rider with the federal government,
manufacturing interests, other recreational
motorized groups, and trail stakeholders of all
descriptions,” said Gouthro.
With that in mind, the group is partnering with
such organizations as the Canadian Off-Highway
Distributors Council (COHV), the Motorcycle
Council of Canada (MCC), and the government of
Nova Scotia in a health and fitness study with a
leading Canadian university. “It is our
intention to dispel the myth that there is no
health or fitness value to ATV riding,” said
Gouthro. “The study is anticipated to be
complete by November, 2009.
The organization is also involved in spreading
programs that have worked on the provincial
level to the national level. For example, it is
currently standardizing safety throughout
Canada. According to Gouthro, the most urgent
issue confronting ATV riders in Canada is
safety. “We have a committee doing a study that
should improve safety nationally. The
committee’s work should be complete by November,
2009,” he said.
In addition, a committee of the organization is
developing a five-year plan. “It would be
premature to second guess their proposals.
However, we will continue to share resources and
support each of the provincial federations,”
said Gouthro.
The organization has a website (www.atvquad.ca).
Although it is going through some major
upgrading, it still provides a resource for
provincial riders who are members of each of the
federations,” said Gouthro. The site includes
information about AQCC as well as information on
safety issues including what safety courses are
available, specific information on the ATV/Quad
Instructors Courses, and standards for
instructor certification.
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