Canada and Nunavut Sign Bilateral Agreement on Sport Participation
Press Release
March 11, 2016
The Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut have signed a bilateral agreement that will allow Nunavut to expand the scope of its projects and programs related to sport participation. The agreement was signed by the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, federal Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, and the Honourable Joe Savikataaq, Minister of Community and Government Services, Government of Nunavut.
The agreement provides a total federal contribution of up to $1,006,900 to be matched by the Government of Nunavut over a period of four years. As well, Minister Qualtrough announced that an additional contribution of $100,000—to be matched by Nunavut—will be made to help defray costs associated with team travel to the 2016 Arctic Winter Games, which are taking place March 6 to 11 in Nuuk, Greenland.
Minister Qualtrough also took the opportunity to highlight the Government of Canada’s commitment to supporting construction of recreational infrastructure that will allow more Nunavummiut to be active for life.
Quotes
“The Government of Canada is committed to working with the Government of Nunavut to provide funding that will increase sport participation in the territory and advance important priorities for sport and physical activity. Working together, we can make sport participation a part of the everyday lives of all Canadians from coast to coast to coast. This announcement is an important step in making this shared goal a reality.”
—The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
“The Government of Nunavut is pleased to partner with the Government of Canada on the Bilateral Agreement on Sport Participation, which will enhance access to introductory sport programming in Nunavut communities. It is this kind of partnership that will help us ensure our young people are developing the skills and attitudes to become active for life.”
—The Honourable Joe Savikataaq, Minister of Community and Government Services
Quick Facts
- The major initiatives of the Canada–Nunavut bilateral agreement are:
- Supporting the development of sport in Nunavut through several projects that strengthen physical literacy and children and youth participation that are compatible with the first three stages of Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L). Sport organizations and community groups are planning and delivering introductory and instructional clinics, camps and workshops in Nunavut communities. The short-term goal of this initiative is to provide children and youth with increased access to introductory sport and physical literacy programs. The long-term goal is to enhance communities’ access to ongoing sport programming, as well as opportunities to participate in sport and be active for life.
- Supporting innovative and creative activities, including the development and delivery of new ideas—for instance, the inter-community support program for youth from small, isolated communities with limited opportunity to measure their performance against their peers through camps, training sessions and competitions—which align with at least one of the objectives of increasing sport participation in Nunavut.
- Supporting a portion of Team Nunavut’s travel to the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), which will be held in Toronto in 2017.
- The term of the agreement is from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2019. The additional contribution of $100,000 (to be matched by Nunavut) to assist with travel costs to the 2016 Arctic Winter Games in Nuuk, Greenland, is an amendment to the original agreement.
Associated Links
For more information (media only), please contact:
Ashley Michnowski
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Carla Qualtrough
Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
819-934-1122
ashley.michnowski@canada.ca
Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
pch.media-media.pch@canada.ca
Kris Mullaly
Policy Analyst/Communications Officer
Department of Community and Government Services
867-975-5342
kmullaly@gov.nu.ca
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