Sport Matters Group

I would ask you to consider writing Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty asking him to kindly reconsider his decision to exclude Sport from the list of named portfolios and cabinet ministers announced in the formation of his first post-election cabinet on October 20^th, 2011.

The decision to drop Sport from the masthead of his government is troubling in view of two factors:

The first is the hosting by Toronto of the PanAm and Parapan Games in 2015 which will clearly require a considerable allocation of public resources and assets in the run up to the Games. Having a member of the Ontario Executive Council publicly delegated to oversee the hosting of this huge event would seem a minimum prerequisite.

Secondly, the decision to eliminate the former Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport is perplexing given the declining levels of physical fitness, physical literacy and wellness of Ontario’s children and youth. On October 14^th, Active Healthy Kids Canada released its Ontario Supplement to the 2011 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. The report card, data for which is compiled and analyzed by the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute’s Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, awards Ontario an overall grade of D-minus. The report also mentions that, on the strength of current trends, it is estimated that 45 per cent of males and 40 per cent of females in Ontario are likely to develop cancer in their lifetime. In terms of specific grades, the report card gives Ontario the following assessment:

− “D” for Active Play and Leisure
− “F” for Sedentary Behaviour
− “D” for Physical Education
− “C” for Provincial Government Investment

For more information about the Ontario Supplement to the 2011 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, see: http://www.activehealthykids.ca/Resources/Ontario-Supplement.aspx

In recent years the Government of Ontario had appeared to be providing the right institutional support for a philosophy predicated on prevention, health promotion and physical activity & sport. Now would not appear to be the correct time to be abandoning this approach. Notwithstanding the need to find savings in the current fiscal environment, cutting support for sport and physical activity is, in our view, a false economy.

I urge you to write the Premier and respectfully encourage him to reverse this decision. The coordinates are:

Dalton McGuinty, Premier
Legislative Building
Queen's Park
Toronto, ON
M7A 1A1

To send an email: https://correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/en/feedback/feedback.aspx

For more information, please see the Sport 4 Ontario Bulletin:
http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6f8e4db25b7cd732276e90e7e&id=9d16eb8363

Chris Jones, Senior Leader
Sport Matters Group