Mr. Speaker, Sports Day in Canada was held November 30, in communities from coast to coast to coast, to celebrate the power of sport, from grassroots to high performance, and to build community and national spirit and facilitate healthy living.
Canada must continue to deliver sport programs that meet the needs of girls and women, if we want to develop fit, self-confident girls and women across their lifespan. As in other areas of Canadian life, we need more women on boards, in this case of national sports organizations.
Although we have made good strides in women achieving Olympic success, we still have low numbers of women coaches at the high performance level: college, university and national teams. We must focus on attracting more women into coaching and officiating.
I know all of us in this House look forward to the Sochi Olympics and Paralympics and a new generation of female role models to celebrate.