Thank you.
If we're going to encourage Canadians to participate in sport and recreation, we need to ensure that there is the infrastructure necessary to allow them to be active. Existing sport and recreation infrastructure is in a deteriorated state at this point, such that it is now becoming a barrier to Canadians' being active. For this reason, we're recommending that the government commit $12 billion over the next 10 years to a dedicated sport and recreation infrastructure fund. These funds would be divided between a repair fund and a new-build fund.
The key word in our recommendation is “dedicated”, so that infrastructure needs for sport and recreation aren't trumped by other infrastructure categories. This has been a common scenario for many municipalities. While $12 billion may seem like a significant ask, it represents 10% of the government's promised commitment to a $120-billion infrastructure fund. The $12 billion is not significant when you consider that the estimated cost to repair existing sport and recreation facilities is $16 billion. This does not include a single new build to address a growing and aging and diversifying population. It's simply for repair.
The 2015 FCM infrastructure report card showed that of all the infrastructure categories examined, sport and recreation faced the most immediate and critical need for repair. In fact, the report card showed that 47% of existing sport and recreation facilities are in fair, poor, or very poor condition.
Sport and recreation facilities are community economic drivers, they are job providers, they are an entry point for new Canadians, and they are the heart of rural and remote communities.
On behalf of Sport Matters, thank you for this opportunity to appear.