Bonjour, tout le monde.
Thank you, Chairman Pallister.
You'll appreciate, since the theme of the brief is competition, that we in sport are pleased with the frame; it's a natural environment for us. You'll also appreciate that it's a difficult position for me to be speaking last, in the sense that we prefer the first, second, or third position.
We're already in Olympic gear, with 2010 on the horizon. We're at a time when, quite frankly, the generation of children between the ages of 8 and 14 will not live as long as we will. This is the first such generation of young people to be in that situation in modern time. It is up to public policy makers like yourselves and those who care about the future of the younger generation to respond to that scenario. We make the argument--as has the Conservative Party in the most recent election and the Liberals prior to them--that this can be addressed through some new fiscal measures.
Our specific request to the committee today is for you to encourage the government to fulfill its commitment to invest the equivalent of 1% of federal health spending in the field of physical activity and sport. This is a preventative measure. It responds to a number of things that we know play out in community life and that citizens are endeavouring to pursue on their own terms, to which I'll speak.
We make the case, as the governing party has, that the comparator is really quite relevant. Here we're speaking to the equivalent of 1% of total federal health spending as an upstream investment, or $435 million. We will look for that in the upcoming budget to fulfill that commitment.
It begs the question, of course, of what this can achieve. I think the primary concern is the health one. We know about the opportunities that can be taken to raise awareness of the benefits of sport and physical activity. We know how to do it. In fact we've done it in the past, and over the course of the last 15 years we've allowed that to regress.
We know that there are issues of infrastructure to be addressed. This is community-based infrastructure that enables citizens to form associations and create the kinds of sport opportunities and local recreation opportunities for young people to go out and pursue activity. Quite frankly, we think it's a modest request.
There are three million Canadians who volunteer and 34,000 citizen-based associations that go about making sport happen in this country, and we think there are certain things they can do on their own terms. They can volunteer and better enable young people to participate in sport, but they cannot build the kind of infrastructure and create the kinds of programs that we know can happen through effective public policy and an effective system. So we're turning to the committee to intervene and encourage the government to fulfill its commitment to invest $435 million in physical activity and sport.
I would also point to some of the other elements in the brief, which no doubt you've read. Despite the burgeoning need for volunteers. there are some trends that you are no doubt familiar with in your challenges to raise volunteers to participate in the political process. We share those same challenges in the Canada volunteerism initiative, as well as the sector strategy promoted by Imagine Canada. Those are two effective and cost-effective ways that we can address those trends.
I would also point to the new sources of funding, which we've indicated are viable alternatives worth consideration and lead us back to the frame of the brief and the frame of competition.
There are fiscal measures that have yet to be explored in the field of physical activity and sport. There have been some long-standing contribution agreements that have enabled investment in programs.
We've seen in the 2006 budget, and we're pleased to see, the use of the tax system to support parents who place their children into organized physical activity and sport programs. But we've yet to explore some of the other fiscal measures, and we would encourage the committee to look at those--the establishment of a foundation, a national lottery or a sport bond.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to speak to the issue. I look forward to your questions.