Pierre Lavoie wants to move the employees

Photo Agence QMI, Sophie Lavoie
The athlete saguenéen Pierre Lavoie wants to create an “economy of prevention” by using a part of the health services Fund.

Patrick Bellerose

Monday, 18 December 2017 00:00

UPDATE
Monday, 18 December 2017 00:00

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The creator of the cubes of energy in the schools, Pierre Lavoie, now attack the world of work and application to Quebec to give a tax break to companies that move their employees.

“It could be to provide showers, hire kinesiologists or create courses of yoga,” shows Pierre Lavoie.

To fund these initiatives, health, Pierre Lavoie, to deduct the contribution to the health services Fund, each company must pay annually. It varies between 1.5% and 4.26 %, based on the payroll of the company. “The employer is already paying this tax, this is not an additional tax, insists Pierre Lavoie. It is already there, but it is poorly used. “

Social education

The idea is, somehow, an extension of the energy blocks that are designed to move students (and their parents) since 2009. “The logical follow-up, currently, she is in the world of work and in the cities, which must create environments,” says Pierre Lavoie.

The athlete saguenéen trace a parallel with the awareness ecologist who has begun, in good part, in the schools before spreading to the world of work. “The young man who then came in a company where no one was not, he said : “it doesn’t look great”. And, quietly, it became a social norm. “

Culture change

Pierre Lavoie is hoping to create in Quebec a ” economy of prevention “, by opposition to the ” economy of disease “, which focuses on the medical care once the person is sick.

If Quebec agrees to deduct up to 50 % of the contribution, as proposed by Pierre Lavoie, are available for employers could reach nearly $3.5 billion.

“There, kinesiologists would be working, nutritionists have had to work, people would go to buy sneakers, lists a Pierre Lavoie. For the moment, the economics of prevention is not well developed, he says. We see that this is not yet in our culture. “

This work of prevention will become even more important with the aging of the population, which will explode the budget dedicated to health. It already accounts for nearly 40 % of expenditure in the State annually.

For employers, the benefits of physical exercise are undeniable, believes Pierre Lavoie. “Employees will be able to come to work by bike or train, on a lunch hour,” he said. That means employees in a good mood, more focused, more efficient. “

What he said

“Today, this money goes on the debt and the health network. If you really want to make prevention, the State must give levers to the business.” – Pierre Lavoie