Recreational Needs and Practices of Youth Living in Rural Areas in Quebec: Views and Concerns of Stakeholders and Parents

Many recent studies have pointed out that the daily practice of recreational activities fosters adolescents' well being (Healty Kids Canada 2013; Pronovost 2013) Some studies even shed light on the fact that leisure, in an organized or free perspective, contributes to youth's identity and social development notably through the social interactions created (Caldwell 2008; Kino Quebec 2011) In addition, the practice of recreational activities may, for many youth, become an outlet related to various experiences through which they seek and discover liberty from their family and school environments (Lemieux and Thibault 2011) As such and in this context, we speak of leisure in its most inclusive perspective that combines organized activities with other more spontaneous acts. We include in this definition traditional and outdoor leisure, as well as deviant or other more unusual practices. However, the sociological role that leisure can play is usually shaped by various endogenous and exogenous environmental and human factors.David (2010) states that the space in which adolescents live, study, and interact greatly conditions their participation to recreational activities. In fact, for this author, as for Belanger (2008) and Rodriguez, Khattak and Evenson (2006) the variety, quality, promotion, and accessibility of recreation areas and facilities are essential underpinnings when it comes to understanding and analyzing youth's dynamics linked to leisure. On this subject, Thibault (2012) and Belanger (2008) mention that the issue of leisure may be a greater and more complex concern for youth living in rural areas than for youth living in urban and suburban areas. For these authors, often limited human and financial resources coupled with the amplified population exodus from the last decades is the context that limits recreational opportunities for these adolescents while bringing forward the increasing prevalent role played by stakeholders and parents in maintaining or even developing a recreational offer in these environments.Oncescu (2014) states that Canadian rural communities face many challenges both in terms of economic revitalization of their territories and maintaining or developing services to their citizens. The geographical remoteness of some of these areas, the rural exodus, and the decline of several secondary industries complicate the implementation of potential actions to boost these spaces (Oncescu, 2014) Oncescu (2014) Devaux (2014) and Alpe and Barthes (2014) recall how schools play a central role in the communities' affirmation and development of leisure for youth. Oncescu (2014) goes as far as saying that the presence, or the absence, of school has affected the quality of life these environments. Through other research, this author stipulates that the well being of these rural communities is closely linked to the presence of varied, innovative, and challenging leisure activities (Oncescu, 2015) Tonts and Atherley (2005) in a sport perspective, have demonstrated that the presence of sports clubs reinforces the social links of these rural communities, and, similarly, the pride of its residents.In Quebec, as in other Canadian provinces as well, public recreation in rural areas is a key factor in fighting the devitalisation of small municipalities and, simultaneously, a means of maintaining territorial occupation (Kowalski et al. 2012; Poulet 2012) However, this correlation remains precarious since it is generally maintained thanks to the efforts and self sacrifice of community and association stakeholders, volunteers and certain elected representatives (Thibault 2008) In the view of many, this balance is fragile and demands an engagement to create different service partnerships between many municipalities in a same administrative region to be stable (Barnidge et al. 2013; Edwards et al. 2014).As such, a recent study by the Observatoire Quebecois du Loisir highlights the existence of two major types of intermunicipal cooperation model in Quebec's rural territories (Garneau, 2015a)