Mark Your Calendar!ARPA 2010 Annual Conference & Energize Workshop
October 21-23
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge
Register Today!
*Early Bird discount available until September 24th only* Visit the Conference website for more info
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 New ARPA report highlights trends in public spending on recreation over past two decades
Public Funding of Recreation in Alberta, a report recently commissioned by ARPA through Nichols Applied Management, undertakes an historical analysis of public funding of Alberta's recreation, sport, and parks sector between 1988-2006. The report updates an earlier study prepared in 2002 on behalf of ARPA, but focuses more closely on the recreation sector and explores in greater depth the changes in municipal, provincial, and federal government funding over the last two decades. The report includes a quantitative analysis of historical expenditures and sources of funds, as well as a general overview of changes over time in funding policies and approaches.
Reflecting the severe fiscal restraint initiated in the early 1990s, which was aimed at reducing the provincial deficit and debt, the province's funding to municipalities for recreation was reduced significantly, as was the case for many other areas in the public sector. This continued through the 1990s and into the 2000s. In this regard, it is estimated that cumulative provincial funding would need to have been some $955 million higher ($2007) during that period to have maintained real funding levels at 1988/1989 levels. Throughout that same time period, accumulative municipal spending declined by $2.7 billion.
Subsequently, in the years that have followed the 2002 report, Alberta experienced considerable economic and population growth, which began to abate only as the current report was being prepared. During those years, the spending restraints that characterized the public sector in the 1990s were being relaxed as the provincial government responded to the improved economic and fiscal environment, and recognized as well the growing recreation infrastructure deficit that had accrued from past fiscal restraint measures.
The report also finds that municipalities fund recreational operating costs largely from their own source revenues (taxes and user fees, primarily) and that dependency has increased with provincial government operating transfers having diminished over time.
Within the context of total public spending in Alberta on recreation, the report finds that approximately $1 billion is expended annually, with municipal spending accounting for 90% of that expenditure.
To read Public Funding of Recreation in Alberta in its entirety, please visit the ARPA website to download a PDF version of this report.
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 Extended earlybird conference registration for elected and appointed officials
Taking into consideration the dates of this fall's municipal elections, all elected and appointed officials may register or transfer names for the 2010 ARPA Conference & Energize Workshop at the earlybird registration fee until Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. Best of luck to you in your respective campaigns, and on election day!
The ARPA Annual Conference will take place October 21-23, 2010 at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in Jasper, Alberta. Register online for the conference today!
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| ARPA Conference accommodation now available at the Sawridge Hotel in Jasper
Please note that the ARPA Conference room block at The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is now fully booked. Conference accommodation may now be booked through:
Sawridge Hotel and Conference Centre
Phone: 1-888-729-7343
Email: reservationsjs@sawridge.com
Group Confirmation Code: ARJ21A
For more information on the ARPA Conference & Energize Workshop, please visit www.2010.arpaonline.ca.
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 Sogo Active updates Can You Fill These Shoes? contest launches across Canada
Hoping to address the crisis of inactivity throughout the country, the new phase of Sogo Active recently launched posing a challenge to Canadian youth. The Can You Fill These Shoes? contest officially opened in August, and asks young Canadians between the ages of 13 to 19 to help inspire their peers in becoming more involved and active.
The purpose of the challenge is for Canadian youth to motivate themselves and their peers to get moving. Twelve winners will be selected from across the country, and will receive the title of "Sogo Ambassadors" - acting as a source of inspiration to their peers by encouraging them to embrace an active lifestyle. The Ambassadors will receive $5,000 towards their education, as well as other prizes from Adidas and SportChek.
All youth who are interested in participating in the contest must register at www.sogoactive.com, and have his or her challenge submitted via the website before October 29, 2010. For more information and contest rules, please visit the Can You Fill These Shoes? contest page.
Deadline approaching for next round of grant applications
Grant funding is still available in the new phase of Sogo Active for any challenges not entered in the Can You Fill These Shoes? contest. Grants are available to help reduce barriers to getting youth more active by seed-funding challenges; one-day events are eligible for $250, and up to $500 is available for four-week challenges.
The deadline for the next round of grant applications is quickly approaching! All grant proposals must be submitted online at www.sogoactive.com by October 13, 2010.
If you have any questions about Sogo Active, please contact Joline Veitch, ARPA Children & Youth Program Coordinator, at jveitch@arpaonline.ca or 780-638-2915.
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| Input sought by provincial government on land-use 'vision' for Lower Athabasca Region
Recommendations from an advisory council for northeast Alberta have been presented to the public for input now and into early October. The Lower Athabasca Regional Advisory Council presented its advice as a vision document on which government will seek public comment before developing a draft regional plan for the area.
Advice to the Government of Alberta Regarding a Vision for the Lower Athabasca Region provides recommendations on economic growth, land conservation, air and water thresholds, and human development needs in the region; as guided by a terms of reference. Recognizing the oil sands are a primary industry for this region, the terms of reference directed the council to consider options for addressing industry growth while also looking to increase conservation areas, and develop options for enhanced recreation and tourism.
Correspondingly ARPA has also recently published a related document titled The Role of Recreation, Parks and Open Space in Regional Planning. This working guidelines report suggests potential RPOS outcomes, objectives, and strategies that could be included in any of the province's seven watershed-based regional plans.
The Regional Advisory Council's vision document and an on-line feedback workbook are available now at landuse.alberta.ca. The online survey closes on October 8, 2010.
Public consultation is planned for September, to be held in Lower Athabasca and nearby communities of neighbouring regions, plus Edmonton and Calgary. A full schedule of the consultations is available download here.
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 Community kicks off the school year with a "Tunnel of Hope"
On August 30th, the students at Bashaw School in Bashaw, Alberta walked through a Tunnel of Hope to kick-start their academic year. The Tunnel of Hope is a component of ARPA's Kids at Hope initiative, and is comprised of caring adults from the community who form a tunnel to enthusiastically welcome each student as they enter the school on their first day of classes. Bashaw's tunnel included the Kids at Hope Ambassadors from the Boys and Girls Club of Bashaw and Area, Bashaw School staff and administration, along with representatives from the RCMP, fire department, Town Office and Council, and the agricultural society.
"I'm really proud of our community's support in hosting the first Tunnel of Hope in Canada," stated Katherine
Cunniffe, Interim Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club. "The people who came out today all demonstrated their belief that Bashaw School is a place where all kids can succeed, no exceptions."
In other Kids at Hope news around the province, the start of the school year also saw the Battle River School District provide Hopeology training to over 120 bus drivers and introduced another 50 administration and support personnel to the Kids at Hope philosophy.
For more information on Kids at Hope please contact Denise Gariépy, ARPA Program and Member Services Manager, at dgariepy@arpaonline.ca or 780-644-1779.
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| ARPA welcomes Joline and Victoria
ARPA is pleased to welcome Joline Veitch as ARPA's new Children and Youth Program Coordinator. A recent graduate from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation, Sport and Tourism, Joline started with ARPA as practicum student while at the U of A. She continued to work as a STEP-funded student, and is now our newest staff member.
ARPA was also pleased to have Victoria Molnar as a STEP student this summer, assisting with data entry and development for ARPA's Facility Inventory Tracking System (FITS). Victoria is now a second-year student in Grant MacEwan's social work program, and she will be staying on with ARPA as a practicum student this fall, with a primary focus on providing support for and expanding the reach of Kids at Hope.
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 Aboriginal community recreation updates
Power & Promise of Recreation in Aboriginal Communities: A pre-conference session
Calling all Aboriginal recreation
practitioners! This year's ARPA Conference in Jasper will include a
one-day pre-conference session focusing on recreation, arts, culture,
and heritage in Aboriginal communities. This session will occur over one full day on Thursday, October 21st.
This
session will be of interest to anyone who sees the power and potential
of recreation, sports, arts, culture, and heritage in Aboriginal
communities. Facilitated by ARPA's ACE Communities initiative and the
Indigenous Sport Council Alberta (ISCA), this pre-conference session will
examine past and current practices and policies in Albertan
Aboriginal communities, as well as build collective strategies for the
future.
Sign up for this pre-conference session when you register online for the ARPA Conference.
Next ARTS Tour to visit the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation in October
Congratulations to the Alexis
Nakota Sioux Nation who recently stepped up as the fourth participating community of the ACE ARTS Tour. This tour was originally planned to visit Frog Lake earlier this year, but was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. This fourth installment of the ACE ARTS Tour will take place October 18-20.
Join us for an upcoming Aboriginal Recreation teleconference...
The
next Aboriginal Recreation teleconference hosted by ARPA and the ISCA
will be held on Tuesday, September 21st at 10:00 a.m. Call in at
1-888-289-4573 using passcode 9374575#. This is a toll-free number so
please call in and join the conversation!
For more information on any of these initiatives, please contact Janet Naclia, ACE Communities Creative Cultural Liaison, at jnaclia@aceleaders.ca.
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