Karate is no longer outlawed in Quebec

UPDATE DAY

Karate Quebec said it was relieved and happy to learn that fighting is once again legal in the practice of the discipline, after the government settled an irregularity in the Criminal Code on Thursday. 

In mid-October, the vagueness surrounding the interpretation of article 83.2.a had led to the postponement of the Quebec Cup. Due to the sport not being selected for the 2024 Olympics, amateur karate fighting had been made illegal in competition for about a year.

By decree, the government of Quebec has since granted an exemption to the law to the federation, as several other provinces have done in the last decade.

“It is a great relief for the entire Quebec karate community, whose concern has been in full swing for the past few days,” admitted Karate Quebec president Stéphane Rivest in a press release.

The Quebec Cup, the first stage of selection for the 2023 Canada Winter Games, will be held in the coming weeks, it has been confirmed. The seconds ticked away as this national competition approached. However, the unveiling of the new government delayed things.

The file was quickly taken over by the Minister responsible for Sports, Recreation and the Outdoors, Isabelle Charest. Over the past few weeks, Karate Quebec has continued its efforts to make the department aware of the “repercussions on the development continuum of Quebec karateka”.

“I was well aware of the post-election context in which we we found and of the impact of the formation of a new caucus on the speed of action of the government”, specified Rivest. However, I saw the time slipping away and the athletes' chances of qualifying diminishing after all the efforts made to reach their goal, it tore my heart!”