Quebec Motorcycle protest gets ignored, once again.

[NeufUnSix]

Quebec has been doing it's best to try and ban sportbikes in recent years. It all started when some ignorant politician made a statement about banning all sport bikes over 400cc (which is ALL sportbikes, seeing how nothing under 600cc is available on the market). As a result of the usual media bullshit and some phoney statistics (showing a spike in sportbike related deaths, without mentioning that sport bike sales had risen the same amount) the government implemented a plan to make sport bikes prohibitively expensive to ride. Originally annual registration cost was to be 1400$, but they settled on 670$ for this year (up from 320$). A blacklist was issues covering an arbitrary range of "sports" machines from 1985 to present, including models not sold in Canada and defined according to such scientific criteria as handlebar to footpeg placement and the style of the exhaust. Anything from the 620SS to a ZX-14 is covered, but naked bikes are ignored regardless of their power (so all Monsters are omitted, as is the Speed Triple, and side-by-side models like the BMW K1200R are left out while the K1200S is included.)

There were several major protests last year, where tens of thousands of motorcyclists converged in Quebec City and Montreal - the Montreal protest went ahead despite torrential rain. There was a small blurb in the news, then it dissappeared. Nothing came of the protests, the policy went ahead.

Well this morning I hear on the radio that there were a new round of protests in several cities. The protest is for quote " a 100$ increase in registration cost" which is completely wrong. 100$ is the increase in standard bike registration, (320 to 420 this year), they completely ignored the fact that sport registration doubled overnight, with further increases planned, and that is the real reason for the protest. I hadn't heard about the protest before the media blurb, so I was pissed that I missed them.

What gets my goat is that I'm now trying to find the news piece on the protests, find out how many went and where they met, but guess what - there is not a single article anywhere on what happened, and the radio news isn't repeating the one-off broadcast they played earlier today. This is exactly what happened last year - major, high visibility protest gets swept under the rug and forgotten before the day is over. It's no wonder we were not able to stop the registration hike, our government has completely ignored us as a political body, and the public has no clue what is going on (even if they did, the usual media bias would probably skew them into the "ban 'em all!" camp).

I'm just pissed, and I thought I'd share the situation with the DMF to get the word out. I'm increasingly considering moving my bike back to the Maritimes so I don't have to deal with this bullshit anymore. On top of all this, the police have implemented a zero tolerance policy for speeding, aftermarket parts, and any vehicle modifications.

Jason
President, DOC of Montreal

[PizzaMonster]

I hadn't heard about this protest myself and I'm just next door in Ontario.

It almost sounds like there isn't much of an effective lobby group amongst the motorcycle community in Quebec.  I am just wondering out loud if the press received an advance press release on this or was it just a whole bunch of motorcyclists who thought that just being there would be enough to interest the media?  Sometimes it takes a professional lobbyist to open the right doors for you.

I got involved in a lot of this media savvy stuff in a 'past life' and it all boils down to who you know and what strategy will push their buttons in the manner that serves you best.


Good luck!  It's a tough uphill battle dealing with bureacrats and politicians.                           

[Duc Stamp]

Dang... I'm getting more and more opportunities to say this...

Blame (french)Canada

[DucHead]

Sounds like you need a "Canadian Motorcyclist Association."

[mstevens]

Wow - that's messed up.

[Kaveh]

That sucks.  I now if you got a big percentage of the protesters to call/write in to a new station or news paper, you'll get coverage. 

That's kinda what happened here in the Bay Area a few years back.  A new local DJ said on the air',that he wished cars would open their doors as motos split past them on the freeway.'  There was a massive call in and write in to the station and local news agencies.  Then there was a massive protest in front of the DJ's work.

Good luck

[Munch]

VS must be behind this!

[Randimus Maximus]

Is there any kind of organization that can help support your cause with the gov't?

Certainly there's plenty of riders who collectively could make some noise, no?

[PizzaMonster]

Maybe this will make you feel a bit better Jason.  (Then again...maybe not...)

I just finished reading our Monday local paper and there is a picture of the ride in section 1.  It's a Canadian Press picture with a caption describing it as a protest against Quebec's motorcyce licencing fees.

No accompanying article to explain things however.   If I hadn't been looking for it I probably would have confused it with just another charity ride photo or a Hell's Angels' ride.

[Ohmic]

Folks. We have to remember that Canada is a heavily regulated country.  Pretty much every industry is somehow regulated or owned by the local government. Borderline Socialism at its core. If you think you're getting screwed with registration in Quebec try getting insurance from the Government owned insurance company for your bike in Manitoba or BC? You'll cry. You can't get insurance elsewhere, coz the local Government has ban all independently owned insurance companies. They OWN the market!! Hummmm?... sounds like Communist don't it? VS? 

I used in live in California. I now live in Alberta. Same bike and less riding reason(5 months per year) you think it would be cheaper? Nope. I'm still paying twice more then what i paid south of the border.

NO Government should have this much power over its people. Communism sucks along with VS. They want to own and control all.

[NeufUnSix]

Is there any kind of organization that can help support your cause with the gov't?

Certainly there's plenty of riders who collectively could make some noise, no?

If there is, I'm not familiar with it and it certainly hasn't accomplished anything worth noting. I wish there was a CMA that would lobby government for our collective rights. As it is we are a minority of drivers and that makes us the easy target for exploitation by an ignorant government driven by an equally ignorant public. One dumbass gets into a crash and the whole community suffers, that's the gist of what we face.

What pisses me off is the misinformation in the media. The reports on "rising sportbike fatalities" were completely false, the data showed no appreciable rise (maybe 5%, without giving any statistical data that would tell you if that was within the margin of error or not), and completely overlooked the fact that the MAJORITY of motorcycle fatalities were NOT sportbikes. Who are the other 75-odd percent of deaths? Isn't that what should be looked at? They provided no data on the rest of the groups, so for all we know 75% of deaths could be Harley riders.

[Randimus Maximus]

that really sux.

you guys pay enough taxes as it is up there...was in ONT last year with some pals for a guys weekend..25% sales tax sound about right?

and then they make all the singles into coins, so you get tricked into giving the girls $5 at a time whilst at the jiggle zone 

[Popeye the Sailor]

You need to be heard some way or other. Time for some civil disobedience. Lane split to every major intersection on a given day in the center of town. Then chain the bikes together. You'll get some media coverage.

[NeufUnSix]

that really sux.

you guys pay enough taxes as it is up there...was in ONT last year with some pals for a guys weekend..25% sales tax sound about right?

and then they make all the singles into coins, so you get tricked into giving the girls $5 at a time whilst at the jiggle zone 

Naw, sales tax is about 14-15%.

[Ohmic]

Naw, sales tax is about 14-15%.

By the time you factor in the extra Fed tax we pay from each paycheck(+10% more then US) and the sales tax and the $14 six-pack of beers... and now the super high registration. I wish it was only 15%. That is why i would NEVER live in ONT or QB. They F*** you in the drive thru.

That's it. Canada needs a revolution~