Those of you in the health field in Alberta will be interested in the
following letter from the Director of the Alberta Centre for Active Living.

The Government of Alberta is looking for input in setting its future
priorities. We urge everyone in the health field in Alberta to contact the
government, by visiting the Future Summit web site at www.futuresummit.com,
attending a regional forum, or contacting your MLA. For more information,
please see the letter below.

Thank you.

Kathy Garnsworthy
Communications and Marketing Co-ordinator
Alberta Centre for Active Living
3rd Fl., 11759 Groat Road
Edmonton AB T5M 3K6
Tel: 780 415-6248 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
Fax: 780 455-2092
E-mail: [log in to unmask]



November 1, 2001


I know that promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles is a priority
for you in your work. Those of us in the fields of active living, recreation
and sport understand the importance of physical activity to the health and
well-being of people of all ages and abilities, and are involved in
promoting active living every day. Now we need to take action to ensure that
the Alberta Government understands the importance of active living for
Albertans as it plans future policy.

Before the provincial Future Summit Conference in February, 2002, all of us
need to communicate to the Alberta Government that it should invest in
active living for the healthy future of all Albertans. Provincial funding
for active living, sport and recreation has not increased in over 10 years,
which underlines the need for us to raise awareness of the importance of our
work.

Between now and December 1, 2001, you have the chance to participate in a
process to define what a debt-free Alberta will look like. To provide your
input in the process, please do ALL of the following:

1.      Go to the Future Summit Alberta 2002 website at www.futuresummit.com and
2.      apply to attend a Regional Forum;
3.      complete a Future Summit workbook  (either online or in hard copy).
4.      Contact your MLA to share your feelings and to enquire about a meeting or
MLA Forum they may be hosting that you could    attend.
5.      Write a letter to your MLA  (the website www.assembly.ab.ca, in the
section called Members of the Legislative Assembly,     provides searchable
names and addresses of all MLAs in Alberta .

Attached are a few messages that you might include in your letter, workbook,
at meetings, or other input you submit.  If we all provide similar messages,
this will strengthen our effort to be recognized as an area requiring
attention. The more letters and workbooks sent, and forums attended by
supporters of active living the better, so please encourage anyone you know
to join us in responding. If the Alberta Centre for Active Living can
support you in any way in taking action, please telephone, email or visit me
at any time.

Yours in active living,

Judith Moodie
Director



Quality of Life Messages

- Escalation of costs of health care requires that Alberta find effective
options for the prevention and treatment of disease.

- It is widely accepted that physical activity can make a major contribution
to the prevention and treatment of a multitude of common chronic diseases
and medical conditions and that an active lifestyle has relatively few
negative consequences.

- It is essential that the province pursue costs saving by proactively
supporting and promoting wellness through physical activity as opposed to
reactively treating illness caused by inactivity.

- Regular participation in sport and recreation can also reduce costs in
social services and crime prevention while contributing to community
vitality and leadership, economic development and environmental
conservation.

- More than 80% of Canadians between the ages of 10 and 24 that are
physically active have never smoked.

- Girls active in sports are 92% less likely to use drugs and 80% less
likely to have an unwanted pregnancy.

- Kids regularly active are less susceptible to stress, perform as well or
better academically, exhibit positive attitudes about themselves are less
aggressive and play better with other children.

- Currently, 64% of adults in Canada aged 18 and over are insufficiently
active for optimal health benefits.

- When choosing where to locate a business, corporations often consider
quality of life as a determining factor. Access to sport and recreation
programs and facilities is a key component of this.

- 97.2% of Albertans believe that sport and recreational opportunities are
important in contributing to their quality of life.

Pressure Point Messages

- In Alberta, Provincial funding in support of Sport and Recreation has not
increased in over 10 years. During this period of time, the province has
experienced 20% inflation and 17% population growth.

- Sport, Recreation, Active Living, Parks and Wildlife organizations are not
able to meet current demand for programs and services.

- Alberta’s recreation and parks infrastructure is aging. Many of the
facilities were built in conjunction with Centennial celebrations and
require replacement or renovations.