Through you, Mr. Chair, to the member, I can answer the first part of your question; I will defer the question of the role of elite athletes to the four-time Olympian here, as to the role model they can play.
With respect to the tax credit--and I think this may, in addition, answer the question of the member for St. Paul's with regard to what evidence or research we have to put in place this tax credit--the finance department has done an analysis on this and has estimated that this tax credit could cost the federal treasury up to $160 million a year when it's implemented.
Sometimes these numbers get especially large. The way I like to look at this number is that it's the equivalent of an investment into children's fitness and sports of $500,000 into each Canadian community of 100,000 people. It's a significant investment, and one that we believe will have a huge impact.
We haven't finalized the structure of the credit and the list of fees that will be eligible, but the government has struck a three-person panel. Each person has been paid an honorarium of $1 to consult with stakeholders across the country.
The panel is made up of Dr. Kellie Leitch, chief/chair of pediatric surgery at the University of Western Ontario, an esteemed Canadian doctor and a success story; Dave Bassett, from Vancouver, who is involved in amateur sport out there; and Michael Weil, president of the YMCA of Montreal. It's an esteemed panel. They've been travelling the country. They've been receiving hundreds of submissions and suggestions as to what fees should be eligible. I want to emphasize that this investment is not just for sport; it's for sport and physical activity, and it will allow parents to recoup some of the costs for children under 16.
We think it's going to make a tremendous impact. To put this in perspective, Sport Canada spends about $143 million a year on its programming, including support for Olympians and support for participation. This tax credit, when fully estimated, could cost up to $160 million a year--in other words, an investment larger than the entire investment we put into Sport Canada every year. So we think it's going to make a tremendous impact, and I'm quite excited about it.
I'll pass the second question, about role models, on to Silken.