I had no idea about the cancellation or controversy, so I did some
googling...I found this overview of the debate and ParticipACTION
timeline.(first link below). However, I was still curious because I see
"Joanne McLeod and Hal Johnson" on TV doing their "Keep Fit and Have Fun"
thing...so I found their website below as well. (the recipes look good). I
wonder who funds their Body Break TV appearances now?
http://www.caaws.ca/e/health/article.cfm?ID=1089
http://www.bodybreak.com/episodes.html
Don't we all have a soft spot for Hal and Joanne?
Emily Marshall
PhD Candidate
The University of British Columbia
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chrystal Ocean" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 9:01 AM
Subject: [SDOH] Alarm sounds over cost of fitness plan - Globe and Mail
> Interesting article in the G & M on the costs and purported value of
> re-vitalizing Participaction, Canada's former "eat right and exercise"
> program. The bureaucrats get it. As usual, the politicians don't or won't.
>
> ------------
> Alarm sounds over cost of fitness plan space
> by GLORIA GALLOWAY
>
> Friday, September 29, 2006 - Page A1
>
> OTTAWA -- Federal bureaucrats say a Conservative plan to breathe new life
> into Participaction -- the fitness-awareness campaign killed five years
> ago
> by the previous Liberal government -- is a waste of millions of tax
> dollars
> on what amounts to a sole-sourced contract.
>
> When the program that was established in 1971 with federal financial
> support
> died in 2001, the annual budget for it was $350,000.
>
> Under a proposal obtained by The Globe and Mail that was prepared in July
> by
> the private non-profit board holding the rights to the Participaction
> logo,
> $446,000 would be required from federal coffers to pay for the initial
> two-month start-up period.
>
> By the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the initiative would need a $5.445-million
> contribution from Ottawa toward a proposed $24-million budget. The rest of
> the money would come from the private sector, foundations, provinces and
> territories, and gifts in kind.
>
> "We have a serious, significant, long-term challenge facing the country in
> rising obesity and lack of physical activity. Our view is that we, as a
> government, have to tackle this challenge," said Michael Chong, the
> Minister
> for Amateur Sport who, along with Health Minister Tony Clement, has been
> advocating for Participaction's return.
>
> "We're looking at ways to make Canadians aware, through a public-awareness
> campaign, of the need for greater physical fitness, the need to live
> active,
> healthy lifestyles. So one of the ways that we're looking at delivering
> this
> message to Canadians is through the revitalization of Participaction...
> What
> I can tell you is that whatever we decide to do must be based on two
> criteria. One is that we want to ensure value for money and secondly that
> the program delivers results. And that's the only way that we're going to
> proceed."
>
> ...
>
> The new proposal envisions a massive public-relations campaign, supported
> by
> a state-of-the art website, aimed at persuading Canadians to get active.
> But it also has caused eyebrows to rise in the Health Department, where
> officials question both the cost and the effectiveness of the concept...
>
> Of concern to Health Canada officials is the desire by politicians to put
> money into Participaction, which is basically defunct, rather than the
> myriad of non-governmental agencies that are still promoting fitness.
>
> "I am still very uncomfortable with the way we are being influenced by the
> minister's office and the discussions around funding the start-up of an
> organization when many others, who actually have programs, already exist,"
> one Health bureaucrat wrote in an e-mail obtained by The Globe.
>
> Another, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fact that
> politicians
> are considering revitalization of Participaction reminds him of the
> federal
> sponsorship program in that there would be little value for the tax
> dollars
> spent...
>
> Within the bureaucracy, he said, everyone knows that this is wrong because
> other groups should be permitted to bid for the funding. And he questioned
> why anyone in this day and age would think Canadians need to be told that
> they should be physically active...
>
> ------------
>
> Full article: http://tinyurl.com/o99fm
>
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