A group of tai chi enthusiasts is displeased with the city's parks department after it was told a chalet they’ve been using for years is now off limits.
On a warm sunny Sunday, the lookout at the chalet on Mount Royal is typically filled with dozens of people practicing the Chinese martial art.
When it's raining, however, the students and teacher move indoors.
It's been that way for a couple of years, so it was a surprise to the group when it got a call this week saying it could no longer use the chalet.
“They called me this week and they told me we should stop our activities and they've been allowing it for two years,” said student Joanne Drapeau, who said they were given no explanation.
“They just said that they want to change the vocation of the chalet but they don't know which vocation they're going to do. They don't know, but in the meantime they just want to stop everything.”
Instructor Claude Kamga Defo said the class moves indoors only when the weather prevents it from being held outdoors.
“When it's nice, (even in) wintertime, we can be outside, so we just use that when we don't have a choice,” he said.
As a practitioner of Chinese medicine, Kamga Defo said tai chi is an excellent way to stay healthy.
“I don't want there to be so many people in the clinic or in the hospital. So for me I think the city must help us to do that more,” he said.
“You're exercising, and you're concentrating so it's good on many, many, many aspects,” said Drapeau.
The class lasts an hour and a half on Sunday mornings, a time of the week when even the staff at the chalet said the facility is almost empty.
CTV contacted the city of Montreal and the parks department but no one was available to explain why the class was told to stay out of the chalet.
The class members are hoping the city will back down because, they said, promoting a healthier lifestyle is in everyone's interest.
