Good morning.
While I'm proud to call myself an Olympian, I'm proud to tell you about the road that it took to get to the Olympics. I'm the second youngest of seven children. At a young age, my father passed away, so my mom had to take on the hardship of raising me and my other siblings. Because of that, we didn't have a lot of access to and participation in sports.
It wasn't until I went to university that I met a coach who encouraged me and helped me find ways to excel in sport. My story is not unique to thousands of other youths out there. National sport organizations have been looking for ways to break down barriers for children and youth to gain access to quality and safe sport programming for years.
In addition to developing and governing all aspects of a particular sport, national sport organizations have taken significant new responsibilities in order to adapt to the demands of evolving sport systems and a changing world, for example, creating sport environments free from harassment, abuse and discrimination, which is imperative.
Concussions in sports are a recognized public health issue, and national sports organizations are required to develop concussion protocols and return-to-sport strategies. They also create opportunities for girls and women to participate in sport, as well as programming that is interesting and accessible to indigenous youth, which is also a priority.
Despite these growing responsibilities, national sport organizations have received no additional funding to support the rising costs of hiring staff, conducting innovative research, and developing sophisticated inclusive programs needed to encourage Canadians to participate.
Since 2008, core funding has remained virtually stagnant, even though inflation has risen by 16%. We ask that you consider our recommendation to increase the core funding component of the sport support program by 25%, which is an additional $18 million per year on an ongoing basis.
Thank you.