manager; Peter Jacobs, MCC president; Peter Sheppard, MCC chair; and
Ray Sriubiskis, CNSS vice-president.
A second national motorcycle safety
conference was kickstarted at the Dec. 7 – 9 Toronto Motorcycle
Show with a $20,000 donation from the Motorcycle and
Moped Industry Council’s (MMIC) Safety and Image Enhancement Fund.
The Motorcycling RPM (Risk and Performance Management)
conference, organized by the Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada (MCC), will take place in the Ottawa-Gatineau region in
September 2008.
The first RPM conference was held in Whistler, B.C., in
September of this year.
Money for the MMIC fund comes out of
profits generated at MMIC motorcycle shows across Canada and is used to support projects that enhance motorcycle or ATV safety or image.
The grants are then handed over at motorcycle
shows in areas served by those associations (the first batch being at the recent Toronto show).
Other grants from the fund include
$10,000 to the Ontario Road Riders Association, $30,000 to the
Alberta Off-Highway Vehicle Association, $15,000 for the B.C.
Coalition of Motorcyclists (for
promotion of Motorcycle Awareness Month in British Columbia), and $15,000 for the ATV Association of
B.C.
BTW, next year’s grants may total less than
the current round because money has been accumulating in
the fund for a couple of years and nobody was asking for it, says
Stover. We’re sure now that the word’s out that won’t be a problem for next year!
Want some of that cash?
Send your submission to Tim Stover at
the Motorcycle & Moped Industry
Council, 716 Gordon Baker Rd, Suite 100, North York, Ontario M2H 3B4 by September 2008.
How it works
The MMIC operates seven motorcycle and
ATV shows across Canada, and each show producer is obligated to put
some of their profits into the Safety and Image Enhancement Fund.
Canadian National Sportsmen’s Shows produces the Toronto, Calgary,
Edmonton, and Vancouver shows, and kicks in money for projects in
those areas. The Quebec and Montreal shows have contributed money for
an awareness program regarding insurance issues in Quebec, and the
Moncton show will kick in funds for east coast projects.
A show committee at the MMIC decides
who will get funding, says Stover, based on the merits of submissions
with regard to issues of safety or image enhancement.
