Policy & Positions Manual
Provincial Issues - Finance
Promoting Health Through Encouraging Participation (2009)
Health care costs in Canada are skyrocketing and absorbing an increasing share of total Government revenue. Government spending on health has increased from $7.4 billion in 1975, or $324 per person to
$120.3 billion, or $4,615 per capita in 2008. This rate of growth is unsustainable.
Yet there is ample evidence that lifestyle changes offer substantial scope for improving the health of Canadians and reducing health care costs. Our life styles are becoming more sedentary and it is estimated that 60% of older Canadians are not active. Many diseases which could be prevented with proper nutrition, sunshine and exercise have become epidemic as a result of our lifestyles. Joining and participating in fitness programs can make a major contribution to healthy living and wellness.
We need to focus more on preventative health measures and become more proactive toward overall health care. Physical activity is vital to a healthy life. Scientists have proven that an active lifestyle reduces the risk of heart disease, adult onset diabetes, osteoporosis, falls and injuries, stroke, arthritis, high blood pressure, depression, colon and breast cancer, and premature death. Studies have also shown that healthy living can delay problems like dementia and improves the quality of life for Canadians.
Staying active provides more energy with fewer aches and pains, better posture and balance, reduced stress through greater relaxation, improves sleep patterns, helps us stay at a healthy weight and generally improves our mood and mental health. Many physical activities provide opportunities to meet new people, thus contributing to more confidence and self-esteem. Maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle for seniors helps them to keep their independence and live longer, healthier lives. Indeed, all the evidence clearly shows that physical exercise for 30 to 60 minutes a day provides numerous health benefits for the individual, the community, the province and the country.
Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living for older adults advises that a balanced physical activity program requires development of endurance, flexibility, and strength and balance. There are additional benefits in terms of improved productivity and a better quality of life for Canadians. Different types of costs are associated with physical inactivity, such as medication, hospital stays, physician compensation, workers compensation and lost productivity. These costs are divided into direct costs which include medical treatment of disease and indirect costs which include lost productivity. An investment in healthy Canadians goes directly to the bottom line in health care costs, and the cost of these credits would be more than compensated by reductions in health care costs.
During the last federal election, the Conservative Party of Canada promised Canadians they would consider extending their Children’s Fitness Tax Credit to all ages. The Federal Government stated it would save $2.5 billion over the next 21 years by extending the benefits of the current Children’s Fitness Tax Credit program to adults, according to an economic study on the effects of the program provided for Fitness Industry of Canada. The financial incentive offered by a federal adult fitness tax credit will encourage nearly one million more Canadians to get active and healthier. Healthier Canadians will need less health care and miss less work due to illness. This study also suggests that it would take just three years for the health care cost savings resulting from a more active and healthier population to outweigh the net personal tax losses incurred by the credit on the eligible amount of up to $500 per person. Projecting 21 years outward, the report findings how the government would see cumulated health care savings of $9.1 billion, and cumulated net personal tax losses of $6.6 billion. This report also projects that by 2027 the total direct and indirect health costs associated with physical inactivity will be just over $20.6 billion in Canada, up from an estimated $7.3 billion in 2007.
THE CHAMBER RECOMMENDS
That the Federal and Provincial Government work together to create a Fitness Tax Credit Program to a maximum of $500 per person that encourages all Canadians, irrespective of age, to participate in sport and fitness programs.
