Madam Chair, the member is once again after my own heart.
I am proud to stand up and talk about the community sport for all program, which I was fortunate enough to work on with support from our caucus. The community sport for all program has invested $80 million, half of it so far and $40 million next year hopefully, in community sport programs across the country focused on disadvantaged youth, youth who are vulnerable and youth who do not have access.
There are three main categories of barriers to access to physical activity for Canadians. The first is environmental. It is a cold country, there is climate change and we are spread out, so it could be a lack of infrastructure or whatever and there are a lot of reasons environmental barriers exist. There are financial ones, as sports and physical activity are expensive and out of reach for too many families. Third, there are socio-cognitive and cultural barriers, where people just do not feel like they belong, and that is a tragic thing.
We need to change hearts and minds. We need to create inclusive spaces. We need to encourage diversity in sports. Physical activity programs have to be made accessible for people with a disability, people from minorities, newcomers, people who feel afraid and people who feel like they do not belong. Sport is absolutely essential.