March 22, 2012

Poilievre Announces Support for Active and Safe Play After School

Nepean, John McCrae Secondary School — On behalf of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Federal Minister of Health, Pierre Poilievre, Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton, today announced support for a project to prevent injuries among young Canadians taking part in after-school sports and recreational activities. Poilievre was joined by stakeholders and Geordie Moss, a grade eleven student from John McCrae Secondary School.

“The after-school hours provide an important opportunity for children and youth to have fun, be active and develop good habits for lifelong healthy living,” said Mr. Poilievre. “However, this is also a time when injuries can occur. That’s why our government is investing in a project that supports safe and active play in the after-school time period.”

Geordie Moss spoke about his history of involvement in after-school activities and how he has sustained several injuries related to those activities. “I’ve broken both my collarbones [playing hockey] which took me out for three months at a time and just this year I suffered a mild concussion which kept me off the ice for three weeks,” said Moss. Moss expressed his support for the initiative saying that educating participants in after school activities is “an important step in making us responsible for our own safety.”

Physical and Health Education Canada (PHE Canada) will develop the Active and Safe After School project in partnership with the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association, the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability, HIGH FIVE, and the Canadian Active After-School Partnership. Together, they will work directly with youth to identify ways in which safety in sports and recreation can be enhanced, whether on the playground, in a gymnasium or in a park. Tools and resources — including interactive games and activities, a program safety checklist, webinars on injury prevention and updated safety guidelines — will reinforce safe play for children and youth, and help parents, care-givers and after-school program providers manage safety risks.

“With funding from the Government of Canada, we are already leading a comprehensive, collaborative initiative that aims to ensure that quality after-school programs are available and accessible to all children and youth living in Canada,” said Andrea Grantham, CEO of PHE Canada. “The Active and Safe After School project allows us to build on this work with proper training and awareness to manage safety risks in this time period.”

Through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Active and Safe initiative, the federal government supports a number of projects that focus on preventing injuries among children and youth, and reaching Canadians in the communities where they live and play. Active and Safe encourages community level action to increase sport and recreation safety awareness.

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Caption: Geordie Moss, grade eleven student at John McCrae Secondary School, speaks about his experience with after-school activities.