For immediate release
June 24th 2010
VANCOUVER – Joyce Murray, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra and the Liberal Party’s Critic for Amateur Sport and Vancouver Olympics, hosted a roundtable in Vancouver today for stakeholders in the sport and recreation community.
“As we move beyond the successes of the 2010 Winter Games, now is the time to look at the steps the federal government must take to create the healthiest, most active and most engaged Canada” said Ms. Murray. “I want to hear what the sport and recreation community has to say about federal action needed to attain not only more podium finishes, but also increased rates of participation in sport and recreation amongst all Canadians.”
The roundtable participants discussed ways in which the federal government can address the inequality of participation; a focus that fits in with the overall Liberal Party priority on equality for all Canadians. Groups like new Canadians, women and girls, disabled people, low-income Canadians, aboriginal, and remote communities are underrepresented and lack the same opportunities enjoyed by others.
Ms. Murray continued by saying that “at a time of increasing rates of juvenile diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, this roundtable consultation builds on a Liberal record of making sport, active living and health promotion a priority. It’s a record that brought us the Vancouver Olympics, Own the Podium, ParticipACTION and Sport4Life strategy.”
A broad range of participants attended the round table which saw the inclusion of 25 local and national organizations including VANOC, AthletesCAN, the UBC Centre for Sport and Sustainability, BC Disability Games, and the First Nations Health Council. Anyone interested in receiving more information on the roundtable or the Liberal Party of Canada’s policy consultation on sport and recreation is encouraged to contact the office of MP Joyce Murray.
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