Our government has invested in and is proud of the work it is doing in the area, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, to improve the physical activity level of our children and our youth. In 2008 the Government of Canada made progress in setting the direction to meet Canada's first ever national physical activity targets for children and youth aged 5 to 19 under the federal leadership and in collaboration with the provinces and territorial governments.
For the very first time ever, federal, provincial, and territorial governments have set direct, measurable targets for physical activity for Canadian children and youth. The targets represent an important foundation to address childhood obesity by increasing the proportions of children and youth participating in daily activities. Also, the ministers of health and sports and recreation have signed on to a joint policy statement that will foster even greater intersectional action to contribute to improving the health and well-being and quality of life of Canadian children and young people by increasing their physical activity. I can say that the ministers are committed to working in partnership with non-governmental organizations to increase physical activity opportunities in and after school periods, a time identified in the research as being critical. As well, in May, federal, provincial, and territorial workshops on the promotion of physical activity in the after-school program will further explore knowledge and best practices to build capacity in collaboration on children's health.
I can say that the interest from the provinces and territories to start addressing the issue of keeping our young people healthy has been very positive, and we'll continue to work with the provinces and territories to move some of that forward.
As a backgrounder, in 2008 under the federal leadership and in collaboration with the provinces and territories, the ministers responsible for sport, physical activity, and recreation set Canada's first ever national physical activity targets for children. By 2015 they will increase by 7% the number of children and youth who participate in 90 minutes of moderate to very vigorous physical activity over and above daily living, increasing that from 11,000 steps to 14,000 steps per day.
Ministers affirmed their commitment to work together to increase physical activity levels among children and youth by establishing the agreements to explore ways to support the development of infrastructure and the capacity to foster greater intersectional action and collaboration with a focus on after-school programs. The federal government co-chairs the FPT working group to align and coordinate social marketing efforts targeting children, youth, families, and caregivers to endorse the use of a common physical activity message across jurisdictions.
This effort and the initiatives undertaken to start dealing with keeping our children healthy have been very positive and very well received. We recognize that in order to ensure we deal with the ever-increasing health indicators, we need to start focusing on keeping our children healthy in this country.
Thank you.