Bilateral agreement follows Games
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, March 14, 2016
NUNAVUT
On the last day of the 2016 Arctic Winter Games, the Government of Canada and Government of Nunavut came together to announce a $2.1 million investment in sports programs and projects in the territory.
Minister Joe Savikataaq drapes a silver medal on Team NWT player Austin Daniels March 10 before the governments of Canada and Nunavut announced a bilateral agreement and funding for sports programming in the territory. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo |
"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," stated Community and Government Services Minister Joe Savikataaq in a news release.
"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 funding is equally split between the federal and territorial governments over four years.
Federal Sport Minister Carla Qualtrough also announced that $200,000 of the funding be used to defray costs associated with team travel to the 2016 Games.
"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," stated Qualtrough in the release. "Working together, we can make sport participation a part of the everyday lives of all Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Today's announcement is an important step in making this shared goal a reality."
The short-term goal of this initiative is to provide children and youth with increased access to introductory sport and physical literacy programs, while the long-term goal is to enhance communities' access to ongoing sport programming and opportunities to participate in sport.
