Finance committee  I'll go back to our strategy, the strategy that's looking at a $20 million initial investment, up to $100 million. It is a comprehensive approach, which will allow all the organizations, including ParticipACTION, to work together. Within this plan there is social marketing, which is what ParticipACTION is so involved in.

Finance committee  Yes. The focus of our physical activity is promoting the importance of all Canadians being physically active and inspired by Olympic athletes. If a child chooses a path toward Olympic athletics, fantastic. We want to ensure that every child, from active start through to older adulthood, has the knowledge, the ability, and the will to lead a physically active lifestyle, and we need a community that can support that.

Finance committee  Absolutely. That's an excellent point, and it's part of the strategy to educate children and youth on skills, providing programs within communities that support knowledge, awareness, and practice. There is a lot of information on active transportation and on developing communities that are safe and supportive of physical activity, so that children can ride their bikes in a safe environment, and it's part of a larger infrastructure.

Finance committee  We have a national plan, a pan-Canadian strategy, that has laid out many areas where we could take a more comprehensive approach to addressing physical activity in Canada for all levels of the population. In terms of physical education in schools--a personal passion of mine--absolutely there needs to be more leadership towards making it a mandated requirement in every province, ensuring that resources are in place for qualified physical educators to be delivering the subject to students, and that adequate time is put in the curriculum to ensure that the kids are receiving the quality programs in their resources, tools, and equipment.

Finance committee  Thank you. It's great to be back on Parliament Hill. I had the privilege a couple of years ago to speak to many of you on the issue of childhood obesity. We played a role in the Dr. Kellie Leitch report, “Reaching for the Top”. This report provides important recommendations for improving the health of Canadian children and youth.