Posted: February 25, 2005

Olympics: Canadian Sport Welcomes More Stable Funding

(OTTAWA - February 23, 2005) The Sport Matters Group (SMG) welcomes the Federal Budget's measures to increase and stabilize funding of amateur sport. The Federal Government announced today that Sport Canada's budget will permanently increase to $140 million per year, up from last year's budget of $120 million.

"This responds to our call for more stable, predictable sport funding which is essential for planning and development at all levels of sport, from community to competitive levels" says Victor Lachance, Senior Leader for the SMG.

"Kudos to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet for supporting Minister Owen on the sport file" says Lachance. "Some key elements of the Federal Government's plan for sport have been addressed in this budget, such as preparation for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games and better support for athlete development".

"It's a shot in the arm for Canada's preparation for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games" says Brian MacPherson, CEO of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. " It certainly gets us closer to having Canada on the same competitive footing as other countries."

"We are happy with the direction the Federal Government is taking as it reflects their growing commitment to the importance and values that our Canadian sporting heroes add to Canadian society" says Mike Smith, President of Athletes CAN. "We can now look at ways of improving the Federal Athlete Assistance Program and other athlete support structures on which so many of our athletes depend on for their basic living and training needs".

"Today's budget demonstrates the government's recognition of sport's value to Canadians and their commitment to Canadian athletes, and we applaud the Prime Minister and Sport Minister Owen", says Thomas Jones, CEO of Commonwealth Games Canada. "This announcement helps bring stability to the sport system, and with three major Games in the next fiscal year, we encourage the Minister to take a balanced approach by investing in both summer and winter sport going forward to 2010".

While the budget falls short of the sport community's recommended Sport Canada budget of $180M, the SMG considers these investments to be timely and a positive step forward. "There is still some work to do on other important issues, such as specific plans for summer sport similar to the Own the Podium program for winter sports and implementing the Canadian Sport Policy" says Tim Page of the SMG, and Executive Director of Diving Canada.

"The Sport Minister has indicated that he intends to bring forward another Memorandum to Cabinet in order to implement the Canadian Sport Policy, and we look forward to working with Sport Canada and the Minister on this next step" says Page.

The Canadian Sport Policy calls on all governments to work together on national goals for sport and physical activity in Canada. "We hope that other jurisdictions will appreciate the Federal Government's actions and recognize the value of investing in sport and physical activity" says Lachance.

The SMG also notes that new money was announced for Canada's healthy living strategy, which includes goals on physical activity. "There's no question we need significant action to address physical inactivity, obesity and childhood diabetes in Canada" says Lachance.

The Sport Matters Group is composed of over 90 national and provincial sport organizations and leaders who collaborate on public policy issues concerning sport and physical activity in Canada.

Website: www.sportmatters.ca.

From the budget document:

Sport
In 2010, the eyes of the world will be on Canada as Vancouver and Whistler host the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The Games will inspire Canadian pride and achievement-and provide an opportunity to encourage participation in sport by Canadians at the highest level and in communities.

As part of the Government of Canada's ongoing commitment to the Games, Budget 2005 provides an additional $87 million over seven years, including an additional $20 million for the Paralympic Games, to ensure that Canada is ready when the world comes to visit in 2010. This funding is over and above the Government of Canada's existing commitment of over $410 million to help build the Games' sport and event venues, as well as to provide the essential services required for such an event, such as policing and security.

To ensure that Canadian elite athletes have the coaching, equipment and support they require to perform at the top levels of national and international competition, Budget 2005 renews on an ongoing basis the significant investment of $50 million made in the last year. In addition, a further $15 million per year will be provided to respond to the recommendations of the Own the Podium report and provide the resources required for Canada's elite athletes to reach their potential in the years to come. Also, as part of the Government's effort to support the Olympians and Paralympians of tomorrow, and to ensure that Canadians across the country have more opportunities to get involved in sport at the community level, Budget 2005 builds on the 2003 investment of $10 million annually for sport participation initiatives by investing an additional $5 million per year.

These investments will bring stability to Sport Canada's budget. They will provide the sport system with the highest level ever of ongoing funding from the Government of Canada, effectively doubling its base funding of some $70 million in 2004-05 to $140 million in 2005-06.