REConnect - ARPA's e-Newsletter - Revised June Issue

At its recent June meeting, the ARPA Board of Directors concluded its review of the Alberta government's recently released draft ACTIVE ALBERTA: A Recreation, Active Living and Sport Policy by determining that, from its perspective, the draft fell far short of representing a comprehensive provincial recreation policy. ARPA members have strongly advocated for the provincial government to develop a provincial recreation policy leading to an ARPA AGM Resolution in 2003.

"At best the ACTIVE ALBERTA document represents a Physical Activity/Active Living Strategy/Policy with the principal objective of remediating the ills and costs associated with physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles," states ARPA President Dr. Tim Burton. "While appropriate, timely and admirable, in that regard, it represents but one of the many dimensions conceived of within a comprehensive provincial recreation policy. As such, it represents a hugely missed opportunity to showcase, elaborate and focus on the broad upstream contributions that recreation and parks can make to:

improving quality of life and enhancing social functioning
strengthening community identity, pride and sense of place
strengthening community safety and security
fostering human development and lifelong learning
promoting healthy lifestyles and wellness
promoting citizenship and leadership
facilitating community building and regeneration
fostering social inclusion and multiculturalism
enriching child and youth development and resiliency
protecting natural capital, contributing to environmental stewardship and community beautification
preserving biological diversity
diversifying provincial and local economies

The ARPA Board of Directors is concerned that, by product, the ACTIVE ALBERTA policy draft is neither a "signature piece" nor has it, by process, provided an opportunity to galvanize and be inspirational for the broad recreation sector. In effect, it may well result in further segmentation and fragmentation of the sector which is already reeling from ongoing fiscal restraint measures and the lack of any enhanced and sustained provincial investment for over 20 years.

While the ARPA Board does not view the draft ACTIVE ALBERTA policy as fulfilling either the recreation or sport policy imperatives, it was very encouraged by the provincial government's reaffirmed support for the National Recreation Statement as a national framework for governance and action pertaining to the advancement and development of recreation.

The ARPA Board of Directors also does acknowledge some very positive priority actions which are identified within the ACTIVE ALBERTA draft document. The following stated priority actions represent areas that ARPA has been actively engaged in, or advocating for, over the recent years, namely:

active communities
afterschool recreation
children's creative play
reconnecting children and nature
community recreation and parks infrastructure upgrades
leadership training - core competencies
environmental literacy
roles of recreation, parks and open space in land-use planning
benefits of recreation and parks

ARPA believes that the recreation and parks field can contribute substantially to an ACTIVE ALBERTA Physical Activity/Active Living Strategy.

The ARPA Board of Directors will be seeking to meet with Ministry officials and will be preparing a formal brief in response to the ACTIVE ALBERTA draft document. ARPA members will also be apprised of more specific ARPA positioning in the coming days prior to the ACTIVE ALBERTA online survey closing date.

ARPA will also be resubmitting to the provincial government its report entitled Foundations For Action: Enhancing the Quality of Life in Alberta as a parallel provincial plan which speaks more comprehensively and directly to the foundational needs of an emerging quality of life sector and the provincial recreation and parks field within it. The Foundations For Action report was developed through extensive inter-sectoral/agency consultations during the 2002-2006 period. It remains very relevant and strategic today and, conceivably, for the foreseeable future.

Make sure your voice is heard!

All ARPA members are encouraged to submit their feedback on the draft policy by completing the ACTIVE ALBERTA online survey, which is available at www.surveymonkey.com/s/ActiveAlberta until July 16th.

For more information on ACTIVE ALBERTA, or to download a copy of the draft policy, please visit tpr.alberta.ca/recreation/activealberta/default.aspx.