Canadian Heritage Committee on Nov. 30th, 2020

[Alex Sarian]

As I mentioned earlier, we have confirmed pledges from municipal and provincial governments. We have a pledge that was made last year by the federal government of $80 million, and we are now in conversations with the infrastructure ministry to see if that pledge can come to fruition. I would ask this committee for your support and advocacy as we continue those conversations at the federal level so that we can break ground as early as 2022.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Thank you, Mr. Shields.

Mrs. Bessette, go ahead for six minutes please.

[Lyne Bessette, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses for joining us today.

My questions will be for Mr. Antunes.

I understand ParticipACTION's position well. I started cross-country skiing at the age of two. Now that I am a member of the federal Parliament, it is important for me to continue to exercise every day. It helps me better do my job and feel better in my skin. That's really important for me.

A number of sports are played in small organizations' facilities. We have noted an increase in the use of Parc d'environnement naturel de Sutton, a place for hiking, which leads to a much faster trail degradation. This park had to close partially during the week to get some relief.

Mr. Antunes, how are those community organizations doing during this COVID-19 crisis and, more importantly, how can those local organizations be better supported?

[Elio Antunes]

COVID has impacted our lifestyles. We're in front of screens now more than we ever have been before. We need to be a bit more purposeful in our physical activity, whereas before a lot of our day-to-day physical activity was generated by walking to and from the bus stop or going out for lunch and grabbing a sandwich.

In saying that, I think we need to also support Canadians with this notion that physical activity...yes, you could visit a facility and enrol in a program, but you can be physically active just by going outside and going for a walk. We need to encourage Canadians to be thinking about physical activity as a way to support their mental health and their other day-to-day issues.

Our platform as an organization is everything gets better when you get active. We need to have Canadians think about physical activity, not as something that you put on a to-do list, but something that is incorporated as part of your everyday lifestyle.

Community organizations are a key partner of ours. In saying that people can just go outside, obviously people want to participate in sport, as an example. To be physically active they need to enrol in a particular program. Many have been suspended or closed as a result of the pandemic.

We need to support these local community organizations to be able to continue to reach out and engage Canadians in a responsible and safe way. Most of the emergency relief funding that has been provided has benefited national and some provincial organizations, but it has not filtered down into the local organizations.

Part of our proposal is to support these local community organizations, many of which are volunteer based and volunteer run. Giving them money will be helpful, but we're positioning that support in the context of a national campaign around this Canada Moves month in June so they can utilize and leverage that focal point as a way to re-engage people within their local programming.

[Lyne Bessette, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you very much.

We know there is a difference between sports and physical activity. As you said a few moments ago, sports are organized or associational activities such as soccer or badminton, while physical activity such as walking or skiing is done informally. We must absolutely find ways to increase the amount of physical activity among Canadians. You also talked about this.

As part of a recovery, is there a new normal concerning physical activity that is taking over? Do you think there will soon be an increase in demand?

[Elio Antunes]

That's our organization's whole wish, that we would have an increase in demand for programming. But, as I said before, I think people have been so preoccupied with keeping their jobs and the economic impact on their families' livelihoods that physical activity hasn't been top of mind. Yet physical activity is one thing they could do to help mitigate some of that stress and anxiety that COVID is impacting on their lives.

We really need to get people to think about physical activity as a mechanism to support their lifestyle as opposed to, as I said, just putting it on a to-do list.

I think engaging in sport is very important as well. There are other benefits to engaging in organized sport beyond being physically active: co-operation, learning how to compete. Those things are very important as well.

As I mentioned, I think it's not a one or the other. We need to support Canadians' intentions to lead an active, healthy lifestyle to help manage and cope with their mental health, but we need to provide opportunities in local communities for them to engage in more community-based sporting programs. Both have merit.

[Lyne Bessette, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Thank you very much.

Are local organizations ready for the recovery?

How would it be possible to provide more support to organizations, now that we are seeing a change in Canadians' habits?

[Elio Antunes]

I think there are two things we could do to support these local organizations. First is to ensure that we have some consistent messaging across the country and that's where our public education campaign recommendation comes in.

Every jurisdiction has used different guidelines or has communicated the guidelines in different ways. Quite frankly, Canadians are confused to some extent on what they can and can't do, where they can and can't go, what programs they can enrol in and how best to enrol in these programs and still be safe and abide by public health guidelines.

There is some work to do to provide some leadership and continuity around messaging to ensure that Canadians understand what they can and can't do.

I think the second thing, as I mentioned, is to support these local organizations. One of the key aspects is that they're dependent upon registration fees for their livelihood. Those registration fees have obviously dried up, so we need to re-engage Canadians in those programs. I think Canadians will be a little more resistant to going back and registering in those programs because of being isolated for such a long time.

Our recommendation is to create this platform, this month. We can use that as a way to re-engage and spark interest in local programming again by providing financial support to allow local organizations to provide free programming for the entire month and to be able to invite people back into their programming.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Champoux, you have the floor.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Once again, my sincere thanks to the witnesses for coming before the committee today.

Mr. Antunes, I will let you get your breath back. I am going to come back to you because I have a few questions for you.

So, Mr. Julien, let me start with you.

I cannot help noticing the fact that you too are talking about the additional financing in the 2019 federal budget that will come to an end on March 31. It seems to me that the industry is demanding with one voice that those additional amounts be made permanent, so that you do not return to 2008 funding levels.

Have you raised that issue with the people you deal with in the government? What has their response been? What signals do you get when you point out the need?

[Frédéric Julien]

We have raised the issue on a number of occasions with officials at Canadian Heritage and with people in Minister Guilbeault's office. The response from Minister Guilbeault was very positive, but we are still waiting to find out what the sector can expect on March 31. That's the only answer I can give you; we are really still waiting for a signal on what will happen with those programs.

With the Canada Arts Presentation Fund in particular, it is important to remember that the program had not been increased since 2007-2008. The additional funding provided was an improvement, therefore, an indexing that brought the program's funding to a level similar to when it was created in 2001. So we are not looking for a significant increase in 2019, but rather for an indexing.

As things develop, when activities resume, it seems appropriate to us to consider these programs as tools that could help us move the recovery forward, specifically by considering additional funding.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Julien.

Let me come back to you, Mr. Antunes.

ParticipACTION, your organization, has been part of the lives of almost all Quebeckers and Canadians since the 1970s. We remember the fun little spots that really encouraged physical activity and stressed the benefits of getting out, moving a little and having fun, rather than on performance. I liked that spirit very much.

When it started, ParticipACTION used to compare the health of a 30-year-old Canadian with the health of a 60-year-old Swede. I remember wondering whether that meant that Swedes were not as fit as Canadians, or vice versa. Given your organization's approach, we can understand what was intended.

Could you tell me the situation we are in today: is that comparison still valid or have we improved?

[Elio Antunes]

The 60-year-old Swede was at the same level of health as a 30-year-old Canadian, implying that Canadians weren't as healthy or as active as the Swedes.

I would say the situation is still true. For physical activity, Canada does not rank at the bottom, but it is certainly closer to the bottom compared with other countries. We do work with other countries when we look at children and youth as a collective. Some countries do things much better than we do and we do certain things better than other countries.

However, this is a global issue. Globally, people are not as active as they need to be to experience health benefits. Canada is not alone in that regard, but certainly our country can and should do more to get Canadians more physically active not only for the benefits of movement, but, as I mentioned, as a way of coping with some of the mental health issues that we're all struggling with as a result of COVID.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

When the first wave of the pandemic began, people were trying to buy bikes for their children for the summer and it was basically impossible. In fact, a number of physical activities have seen a resurgence in popularity. Still today, you have to get up pretty early to buy cross-country skis, because it is almost mission impossible.

Is it your impression that your organization could play a role in suggesting other activities, other ways of capitalizing on this kind of craze for physical activity? Do you have a game plan of that kind?

[Elio Antunes]

We do. In fact, we have actually used technology as a way to communicate, as many other organizations are doing. We created the ParticipACTION app. Through the app we are delivering supports and practical strategies on what Canadians can do to be physically active.

We just finished off a month-long challenge called the “Great Big Move” where we encouraged Canadians to get into groups virtually to be physically active and accumulate their physical activity. By doing so you could unlock certain milestones that exposed you to the various aspects of Canada, celebrating all of what Canada has to offer from a physical activity perspective.

We are looking at innovative ways of using technology to be able to get people into groups. That's one of the key things that has been missing. People are now isolated and physical activity is very much something that, if you're doing it with someone else or in a group, you're a lot more accountable. We have kind of lost that. We lost that at the local gym. We're not going to that with our friends anymore, so we're creating ways to engage virtual groups through physical activity in fun ways.

Our two recommendations include a national public education campaign because we still need to be reminded. Yes, some of us are trying to buy exercise bikes, but the vast majority of Canadians just don't have physical activity on their radar. They don't see the opportunity to use physical activity as a way to cope with some of the stresses they are encountering. We need to continue to communicate, to engage and educate, and provide practical strategies to help Canadians and their families to be more physically active.

The second recommendation is to creatively look at a national unity opportunity. Hopefully, by June 2021, we will be in a position to do that, where we're engaging communities to support individuals in being physically active.

We want Canadians to want to be physically active, to understand the benefits and then we want communities to be able to support those activities as well.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Antunes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Thank you very much, Mr. Champoux.

Ms. McPherson, you have six minutes. please.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank all of our witnesses today. It has been very interesting to listen to you.

I want to congratulate Mr. Antunes. Fifty years is a remarkable thing. When I was in grade 6, I was the flexed-arm hang champion at Brander Gardens elementary school in Edmonton.

I have some questions for you. One of my concerns is the impact that multiple levels of funding disappearing will have on the sports sector in our communities. In Edmonton, for example, the municipality—the City of Edmonton—is cutting funding and grants for a lot of organizations that depend on those grants.

Can you talk about the impact of the lack of funding through a variety of different mechanisms that we have seen during COVID-19?

[Elio Antunes]

It's a comprehensive issue. As I mentioned, our sector is made up of national, provincial, territorial and municipal organizations. We all depend upon one another to support Canadians to be active and to participate in sport. If one piece of the sector falls, then the whole system is compromised.

Many of the emergency relief programs that have been available have been supporting national organizations like ParticiPACTION. We are, obviously, very grateful, but when it comes down to the local level, that money has not filtered down. In fact, as you mention, in many cases governments are cutting because they have to redirect resources to other areas.

That will put significant pressure on the whole system because there are over 33,000 organizations, 71% of which are local community organizations. I should also say that 73% of all of those community organizations are volunteer run. They don't have large staffs to be able to find money or to go to sponsorship. If those organizations don't get the type of support they need to sustain ongoing programming, they will likely close up shop. This means we won't have those local organizations offering up programs for Canadians to be able to participate in, whether that's joining a hockey league or a soccer club. Those programs may just disappear in our local communities.

Not only does it have an impact on our ability to participate in physical activity and sport as Canadians, it really impacts the cultural social fabric of Canada that these organizations contribute to.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you.

Similar to Madam Bessette, I'm a mother. My two children are both athletes, and one thing I'm realizing—all of the things you say really resonate—is that there is more screen time. It is difficult to keep that going.

There are some other deep impacts. My children are both at home now. Their school has gone to online learning, and there is no physical education happening within the schools either. We have lost that piece. My children both do sports, and so they also have lost their ability to train with their clubs and with their teams.

Is there any plan to support the coaches, trainers and all of those pieces of this puzzle that provide training and are now required? My daughter does her swim training in her bedroom right now. Are there ways that we can support those coaches, trainers and individual leaders?

[Elio Antunes]

Certainly. My colleagues in the sport system would be better qualified to give you a more detailed response and [Technical difficulty—Editor] someone from the sport sector meet with you.

Many of the national sport organizations have developed strategies to support their programming, whether virtually or otherwise. I would say that's where those discussions are happening, at the national sport organization table. I'm not really part of that. I'm more on the participation side. Certainly, those discussions are happening. Those organizations are committed to ensuring that the right supports are put in place to enable children, youth and adults to continue to participate in sport at the level at which they participated in the past.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

You have talked a bit about Sweden, of course, and what we've seen with Canadians not being active and not participating. What have you learned from other organizations around the world? How are other countries dealing with this? This is not something that would be unique to Canada. It would be international in scope.

[Elio Antunes]

It's certainly not unique to Canada. At the same time, I think the countries that are doing well, to be very frank, have significant government support from both a policy perspective and an investment perspective. We don't have that in Canada, at least not from a policy perspective. We don't value the role that physical activity plays in our society the way some other countries do. Australia in particular recently developed a whole new strategy with significant investment around re-engaging its citizens back into physical activity and sport. I would say that's one thing we need—a higher priority and emphasis and focus on the role that sport and physical activity play in our country from both a health perspective and a social engagement perspective.

We've learned, though, that some of the countries that are doing well actually have implemented physical activity as part of more lifestyle behaviours. Active transportation has been a big focus. This is a huge opportunity for us, because many of our cities have now dedicated biking lanes or walking paths. That's something we need to ensure we continue to support and build. As opposed to taking them down when the crisis is over, we need to really ensure that our cities and the places where we work and live are supportive of and conducive to being physically active.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you so much. That was very interesting.

I'm sure I'm out of time.