The Corporation de Développement Communautaire du Haut-Saint-Laurent is wrestling with a social crisis.
As part of a national campaign launched by the Table nationale des corporations de dévelopement Communautaire that calls attention to the fight against poverty and social exclusion, the local CDC has joined its voice to the chorus of organizations accusing the provincial government of being “knocked out.”
The CDC put a literal spin on the campaign slogan which insists the government move from “KO to OK” by reinvesting in the province’s social safety net. It hosted a live wrestling gala at the LBA fairgrounds in Ormstown on October 29.
Playing on “KO” as the abbreviation for “knocked out” as well as the pronunciation for the word “chaos” in French, the CDC turned to the Beauharnois-based New Outlaws Wrestling company and wrestler Loic Duplessis to stage the event.
The evening featured seven themed matches between Duplessis’ team of wrestlers fighting on behalf of social issues such as social exclusion, mental health, food security, housing, and climate change, versus a group of opponents supporting social chaos.
Around 75 people cheered on the good guys, as different community organizations introduced each battle and the narrative playing out in the ring. For example, the first fight depicted the mental health crisis: one wrestler was forced to take on two opponents, and after being pinned to the ground, the wrestler would insist he was fine, but eventually the task became too much.
“We wanted to highlight the extent to which there are many crises that are contributing to a social crisis,” explained CDC du Haut-Saint-Laurent director Rémi Pelletier. “Right now, we are missing one of the main partners in the fight against poverty and social chaos,” he continued, before pointing out the provincial government is an essential component in this fight.
The final battle saw all the representatives from the community take on the wrestler embodying social chaos, who was eventually knocked to the ground. “The finale aimed to illustrate that we are all in this together. We defeated him by uniting our forces.”
Pelletier acknowledged the CDC wanted to do something symbolic. “At the same time, we wanted to see the event as an opportunity to let off some steam,” he said. “We work hard all the time. We are always politically correct in our work. For once, it was okay to shout out our anger and our frustration,” he added.
Pelletier says the evening was a success, and the CDC is considering similar actions in the future in partnership with the wrestling company.