Thank you, C.J.
When restrictions are lifted, Canadians will want and need recreation and parks services. There will be challenges. C.J. has mentioned some of them.
There will be higher operating and infrastructure costs. There will be limitations on the ability to deliver programs in terms of participant levels and facility and space capacity limitations, while costs will remain the same.
Hiring, training and ramping up staff will be expensive, and municipalities aren't eligible for current wage subsidy programs. As well, participants will need to get over the stigma of being in busy facilities and spaces. That will require enhanced cleaning procedures as well as enhanced promotions and marketing efforts. There will also be capital investment requirements related to those public health restrictions. They will be added to the pre-COVID capital issues the sector had in terms of aging infrastructure.
These challenges will lead to increased costs and user fees and the need for specialty staff, supplies and equipment. In some cases, we fear that these increases will be too much for municipalities and non-profits, leading to reduced service levels and, in some cases, facility and space closures.
We know that recreation, parks and sport will be key to our recovery. We also know that we have a lot to contribute to other federal agendas, such as increasing physical activity levels, addressing climate change and furthering reconciliation.
For these reasons, we call on the federal government for two avenues of support, with the first being a community sport and recreation recovery fund, and the second being investment in sport and recreation community infrastructure. We call upon the federal and provincial and territorial governments to create a joint single-transfer funding program that municipalities can immediately access to help support the costs of returning parks, recreation and sport services to communities.
We applaud the recent commitment by the federal government of $72 million to amateur sports sectors; however, we are representing the places where those activities will occur, and obviously we need to be providing those spaces for sport and play to come back.
We also call for an investment in community sport and recreation infrastructure, not only to address the pre-existing multi-billion dollar recreation infrastructure deficit, but also to address new infrastructure needs in a post-COVID-19 setting. When compared to any other infrastructure system provided by municipalities, it's been proven that recreation most needs investment. Again, we do applaud the federal government for re-profiling existing infrastructure funds to create a COVID-19 fund, but that is only a first step. New money is also needed.
We're hoping that these infrastructure funds, when announced, could be directed to municipalities directly to allow for timely and direct funding to communities, and they should be earmarked for sport, culture and recreation infrastructure, preferably to reinvest in aging facilities, similar to the envelope created in the 2017 federal budget.
With that, I would like to thank you for your dedication and public service in these trying times and also to thank the finance committee for inviting CPRA to appear.
We will welcome any questions during the question period. Thank you.