Make hockey Quebec's 'national' sport, premier's hockey promotion committee says

The committee appointed by the Quebec government to boost Quebecers' interest in hockey says the sport should be cheaper to play so that lower-income and immigrant families can more easily participate.

Hockey should also become Quebec's "national sport," Marc Denis, former Montreal Canadiens goalie and head of the committee, said Thursday.

After seeing the outpouring of grief earlier this week during the national funeral of Canadiens great Guy Lafleur, the love Quebecers have for the game is clear, he said.

"If we still had doubts, the last few days have proven to us to what extent hockey is truly our national sport."

Last November, Premier François Legault gave Denis the task of coming up with ways to increase Quebecers' interest in hockey and to increase the number of Quebecers in the NHL. Legault lamented at the time that there were fewer young people in the province interested in hockey than there were in prior generations.

Denis said that while increasing the number of Quebecers in the NHL wasn't his main goal, the steps outlined in his report give more Quebecers a path to the major league.

"Yes, we think that if the recommendations are applied, there will be more Quebecers in the National Hockey League, but that wasn't the main objective," he said.

"The main objective was that there are more [players], that they're better supported, that they have a better environment, that they remain attached to hockey for a longer time, and that this way we give them the best chances."

Quebec's minister responsible for sports said the government wouldn't shelve the report released Thursday, but she wouldn't say which of its recommendations would be adopted.

"It's the first step," Isabelle Charest said. "The next step is to sit