Mr. Speaker, in the city of Toronto, swimming pools are threatened with closure because of a lack of school board funding. I have joined with the community to protest because we cannot sit by and let this happen.
Our parents and grandparents built these pools in much leaner times and it defies logic that, when our country is wealthier than ever, we cannot find the funds to maintain them.
The Canadian Ministry of Health website recommends swimming as an excellent activity for health promotion. We know it develops coordination, fitness and confidence. It helps prevent obesity and is therapeutic for seniors. Knowing how to swim saves lives. A swim program is a better crime prevention tool than the law and order crackdown by the government.
We need more than a website to promote public health. We need federal funding. Rather than reduce our fiscal capacity with tax cuts to very profitable corporations, we need to invest in our people and communities.
I have introduced a motion calling for federal funds for sports infrastructure, such as soccer fields, cycling paths, and swimming pools. Let us use our common sense as a country to invest in the resources that will help our children develop to the best of their ability and help everyone stay fit and healthy.