HANSARD

 

NOVA SCOTIA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

 

 

 

 

STANDING COMMITTEE

 

ON

 

HEALTH

 

 

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

 

 

COMMITTEE ROOM

 

 

 

Promoting Physical Activity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Printed and Published by Nova Scotia Hansard Reporting Services

 

 

 

HEALTH COMMITTEE

 

John A. MacDonald (Chair)

Hon. Trevor Boudreau (Vice Chair)

Chris Palmer

John White

Nolan Young

Hon. Kelly Regan

Rafah DiCostanzo

Gary Burrill

Susan Leblanc

 

[Rafah DiCostanzo was replaced by Carman Kerr.]

 

 

In Attendance:

 

Judy Kavanagh

Legislative Committee Clerk

 

Gordon Hebb

Chief Legislative Counsel

 

 

WITNESSES

 

Healthy Tomorrow Foundation

Dr. Leisha Hawker

Board Member

 

Kerry Copeland

Executive Director

 

Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage

Bill Greenlaw

Executive Director, Communities, Sport and Recreation

 

Michelle Aucoin

Managing Director, Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity

 

Elaine Shelton

Manager, Physical Activity

 

 

 

 

HALIFAX, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

 

STANDING COMMITTEE ON HEALTH

 

9:00 A.M.

 

CHAIR

John A. MacDonald

 

VICE CHAIR

Hon. Trevor Boudreau

 

 

THE CHAIR: Order. I call the meeting to order. This is the Standing Committee on Health. I’m John A. MacDonald, MLA for Hants East and the chair of the committee. Today we’ll hear from Healthy Tomorrow Foundation and the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage regarding Promoting Physical Activity. Also today, on behalf of the committee I want to welcome its newest member, the Vice Chair, honourable Trevor Boudreau, MLA for Richmond.

 

Now I’ll ask all committee members to introduce themselves for the record by stating their name and constituency. I’ll start with MLA Regan.

 

[The committee members introduced themselves.]

 

THE CHAIR: For the purposes of Hansard, I’d also like to recognize the presence of Chief Legislative Counsel Gordon Hebb on my left, and Legislative Committee Clerk Judy Kavanagh on my right. Also, a reminder to please put your phones on silent.

 

I’d like to welcome everybody for coming here. First, I’m going to allow you guys to introduce yourselves, just name and position, and then we’ll go to opening remarks. I’ll start with Dr. Hawker.

 

[The witnesses introduced themselves.]

 

THE CHAIR: I’m going to start with opening comments. I believe, Dr. Hawker, you have some. Dr. Hawker.

 

DR. LEISHA HAWKER: On behalf of Doctors Nova Scotia’s Healthy Tomorrow Foundation, thank you for inviting us to join you today. As I said, I’m Dr. Leisha Hawker. I’m past president of Doctors Nova Scotia and a member of the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation’s board of directors. Hopefully Kerry Copeland, our executive director of Healthy Tomorrow Foundation, will be here very soon.

 

I’d like to introduce the foundation and highlight its work, and show how Nova Scotians are benefiting from our work with the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage and the Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia action plan for increasing activity.

 

Doctors Nova Scotia created the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation back in 2018. Its goal is to create a healthier tomorrow for all Nova Scotians through movement. Many of you may be familiar with our flagship program, the Kids’ Run Club, which has been helping Nova Scotian youth get active for more than 20 years. My little one just started at Sir Charles Tupper Elementary and she’s very excited to be joining Kids’ Run Club with her big cousins.

 

Building on its long history of helping the province’s youth develop healthy, active lifestyles, in 2020 the foundation expanded its focus to inspire adult Nova Scotians to move more throughout their day, whether in the workplace, to get to places at home, or for fun, and through our Make Your Move ad campaign and our Make Your Move at Work program. This expansion was in response to the ongoing inactivity crisis in Nova Scotia.

 

Physicians see first-hand the devastating effects that inactivity and too much sedentary behaviour can have on our patients, and we all have people in our lives who have been negatively impacted by preventable health conditions. Lack of physical movement is directly correlated to chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Managing these types of chronic disease places a significant burden on our already overburdened health care system.

 

In addition to helping people stave off chronic disease, staying active also plays an important role in helping people live independently, because it keeps us well for longer. We know that helping Nova Scotians move even a little bit more can have a significant impact on their health and well-being today and over the long term. Moving more each day can not only help prevent chronic diseases and many health conditions in the future, but may also result in immediate improved health measures. Even short bouts of movement can deliver benefits related to improved mental health, cognitive function, muscle strength and balance, and can help manage chronic diseases.

 

Years of research into physical activity and population-wide health promotion efforts have taught us we’re missing a lot of people by only focusing on traditional fitness and exercise. Many Nova Scotians struggle to meet the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week. Research shows that if people start to move even a little bit more, it has a positive impact on their health and overall well-being.

 

We know that helping those who are inactive move even a little more can have the biggest impact at a population health level. We also know that big changes can be intimidating for many. Going from being inactive to achieving at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity can be unrealistic or overly challenging for most people. That’s why our Make Your Move initiative is focused on simple movement. It’s an accessible option for all. It’s universal, and it’s regardless of age, ability or circumstance. It’s an important distinction that will help many more people work toward being more physically active. We know that every move is a good move, and that big changes start small.

 

Our passion for this work lies in knowing that we have the ability and knowledge to move the needle toward better health outcomes for Nova Scotians. We’ve been working with the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage to help redefine movement as articulated in the Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia action plan for increasing physical activity.

 

With the trust and support of the provincial government, the foundation has become a leader in the physical activity sector. We’re quite unique in our focus on reaching the province’s inactive population and encouraging small shifts in behaviour that may lead to larger cultural change. Lots of great organizations are doing great work to encourage physical activity through sport and recreation in our province. We’re complementing this work by engaging Nova Scotians who need to start smaller, showing them a different way to increase their activity levels, and educate them on the benefits, both the short term and long term, of adding more movement to their day.

 

Research tells us that even those Nova Scotians who do reach the goal of 150 minutes of activity a week are likely to spend the remainder of their waking hours not moving. Even they can benefit from the message to interrupt and reduce their sedentary time.

 

We’re always striving to make sure we understand the needs of inactive Nova Scotians, and that our solutions to add more simple movement throughout the day are easy to implement. With high rates of disability in our population, accessibility is crucial. Those living with disabilities or health conditions experience additional barriers to getting active, which is why we ensure that all our programs are as accessible as possible. We emphasize and encourage the mental health and the social benefits of movement, and celebrate community members who are natural leaders in their own neighbourhoods.

 

During the pandemic, we learned that we’re all in this together, and as a province with strong community ties, we can all play a part in inspiring and encouraging others. We’re all impacted by various stressors in life, and building healthy habits such as increasing our physical activity enables us to be more physically and mentally resilient.

 

Through our programs, the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation is helping empower Nova Scotians to take a leading role in their own health and wellness roles. We believe that the Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia action plan for increasing physical activity is trailblazing in its comprehensive approach, which is required to shifting behaviours. For a vibrant future for all Nova Scotians, we believe it’s critical to continue supporting this strategy if we are to improve health outcomes across the province.

 

THE CHAIR: Mr. Greenlaw.

 

BILL GREENLAW: Good morning, and thank you all for always making us feel so welcome when we come to committee. I do appreciate your greetings with the team when we first came into the room. It’s much appreciated. It helps us get a little bit more comfortable before the session.

 

My name is Bill Greenlaw. I’m the executive director for the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage, and I have the Communities, Sport and Recreation file.

 

Thank you for the opportunity to speak about our commitment to promoting physical activity in the lives of Nova Scotians. I’m here joined by two of my excellent team members, Michelle Aucoin, managing director of Sport, Recreation and Physical Activity, and Elaine Shelton, manager of Physical Activity. Also, we have the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation, who have been an outstanding partner and collaborator in this effort to make Nova Scotians move more. I do really value that partnership. From what I can see when I talk with my FPT colleagues, it’s a unique relationship across the country. Thank you for helping us support each other in advancing this crucial mission mandate.

 

While not all of us are destined for the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, the good news is that you don’t need to be an elite athlete to enjoy many benefits of movement. At our department we’re focused on making movement a natural and enjoyable part of everyday life for everyone, no matter their age. Whether it is to walk on a local trail, a lunchtime stroll around the office or joining a community sports team, our goal is to ensure that everyone has opportunities to stay active.

 

We know that physical activity is a cornerstone of a healthy, happy, connected, and productive life. Research has consistently shown that staying active can prevent and help manage and reduce the risk of a range of chronic diseases, from type 2 diabetes to cardiovascular conditions, and even reduce the risk of depression.

 

Alarmingly, physical inactivity is estimated to contribute to 27 per cent of type 2 diabetes cases and 19 per cent of cardiovascular diseases in Canadian adults and can increase the risk of dementia by 40 per cent. This is why we made it a priority to encourage movement across all ages and abilities. Our Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia initiative is a prime example of our commitment. This action plan, aligned with the national framework of common vision for increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary living in Canada, aims to support Nova Scotians to seamlessly integrate physical activity and movement into daily life. We have made significant investments to support this outcome, such as funding the Make Your Move initiative, which has increased public awareness, particularly among Nova Scotian women aged 40 to 60.

 

We are also ensuring that communities have access to safe and enjoyable spaces for walking, cycling, and other forms of movement, through programs like the Connect2 program, the Connect2 grant and the Active Communities Fund. These funds allocate over $1.6 million annually to support local action, promote physical activity, and reduce sedentary behaviour.

 

The Communities on the Move initiative supports the communities of Antigonish, Lockeport, Wagmatcook and Yarmouth, where they are working towards cultural shifts for regular movement to become the norm. We are encouraged by the early results of the program that show the awareness of messaging encouraging movement is higher in communities on the Make Your Move sites, like Antigonish and Lockeport, with over 40 per cent of the residents now being aware of the messaging.

 

We are not stopping there. New Glasgow has recently embraced the Active Communities movement as well. In the workplace, where many of us spend long hours sitting at desks or in the Legislature, we support the Make Your Move at Work initiative. This program helps employers create environments that encourage movement throughout the day. Simple actions like having a walking meeting or using break times for a quick stretch can make a big difference. Personally I make it a habit to walk through our office multiple times a day checking on each cubicle and connecting with colleagues. It’s a small but effective way to stay active and engage beyond the usual emails and screen meetings.

 

We also recognize the importance of supporting children and youth in staying active. The Kids’ Run Club, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, reached more than 16,200 kids in 164 schools last year.

 

We’re also addressing the need for affordable, high-quality, before and after programs that encourage movement for children in the pre-Primary program. The Nova Scotia Before and After Program has expanded rapidly, now serving 2,364 students across 71 locations.

 

As I said before, efforts to remove barriers to physical activity extend across all ages. For seniors we’ve seen significant success in initiatives like NS Walks, which has established new walking groups in rural Nova Scotia, African Nova Scotian and Mi'kmaw communities, ensuring that aging Nova Scotians have the opportunities to stay active. By the end of the fiscal year 500 walking leaders have been trained throughout this program.

 

At CCTH we’re not just promoting physical activity, we’re fostering a culture of movement that supports the health and well-being of all Nova Scotians. Whether it’s through community-based programs, workplace initiatives, or individual efforts, we believe that every move counts.

 

For those interested in learning more about our initiatives, I encourage you to connect with our staff, our partners, including the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation, to explore the resources available in your communities. I look forward to discussing how we can contribute to building on these efforts and ensure that every Nova Scotian has the opportunity to move, live healthier, and enjoy the benefits of movement.

 

[9:15 a.m.]

 

THE CHAIR: Before we start, I will let Ms. Copeland introduce herself and her position. Ms. Copeland.

 

KERRY COPELAND: So sorry for being late. I realized as we were sitting in traffic, not getting here and being late, watching the clock, why didn’t I ride my bike down? I would have been there on time. I think it’s because I was wearing a blazer. I wouldn’t normally bike in a blazer. My name is Kerry Copeland, the executive director of the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation.

 

THE CHAIR: No other opening remarks? As is the common practice, it will be 20 minutes, 20 minutes, 20 minutes. I apologize; at the end of 20 minutes, I may say “Order” because the time is out. I’m not being rude, it’s just the process we follow. We’ll start with the Liberal Party. MLA Regan.

 

HON. KELLY REGAN: Ms. Copeland, I feel your pain. I hit the base of the bridge at 8:30 a.m. and then sat in traffic for 20 minutes, which made me think a lot about how we move ourselves around right now and with all of the construction going on, why didn’t we have people parking on the outskirts and getting a free bus in? That’s for another order of government, so I won’t go there.

 

In terms of the Make Your Move at Work campaign, I’m thinking about people who are working from home. It seems to me that we have a whole lot of people who spend a whole lot of time at their desks right now, and they’re at home. They’re not even getting the chance to go have a conversation at the water cooler or anything like that. I say that because I have a younger child who’s working from home and they spend all their day on the computer, and then what do they do for fun? They go play on their computer.

 

I was just wondering if you could speak to what the data is in terms of improving employee health and reducing workplace absenteeism.

 

THE CHAIR: And that’s to . . .

 

KELLY REGAN: Whoever wants to take the question.

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Copeland.

 

KERRY COPELAND: I can’t quote you the statistical numbers on that. I can tell you the research shows pretty clearly that if you can integrate movement within your work day, you can experience both physical and mental health and productivity benefits. Not only do you feel better and it’s a break from your work, but you can be more creative, more productive, better memory, you’re able to have better executive function. Cognitively, movement during our work day is going to add a benefit, and also physically as well.

 

Honestly, you have more energy, and you feel better. If you’ve been able to take a break, you come back to your desk relaxed. I have to say, thinking of your daughter working at home, the tendency is you have no boundary between work and home life, so there are a lot of other reasons why that’s bad, but there are really so many ways to integrate movement when working from home. The beautiful thing about Make Your Move at Work is it is applicable to staff who are on site, working at home, or even in a hybrid model.

 

If you think about your daughter working at home, I’m sure she’s taking a lot of virtual calls. Why not stand during some of those virtual calls? She might even be able to put her earbuds in and go for a walk during that virtual call. Take a stretch break when you go and you’re waiting at the microwave for your tea to heat up. Do your stretch break and you will definitely feel more energized. At the end of the day, rather that wanting to sit down on the couch and just watch TV or videos, maybe you’ll go for a walk, because you’ll have more energy.

 

KELLY REGAN: Do we know if that message is getting out there? It’s our youngest, who is not a girl. How do we know that message is getting out? Do we have any data that indicates that the health of Nova Scotians who are working from home is actually improving as a result of this? Do we have anything like that?

 

KERRY COPELAND: I can say currently, in terms of Make Your Move at Work, we don’t have the data because the program is too young and we’re just starting to work with organizations. We are trying to get the awareness out through Make Your Move. Make Your Move at Work is based on the concepts of Make Your Move. Through our public awareness campaign, we are seeing an increased awareness of the campaign. We’ve gone from 5 per cent in 2021 to 19 per cent in 2024. Overall, in the population, there’s also an awareness. The data is showing that there is an awareness for messaging to encourage people to move more. That’s the first step: in general, to help folks realize there is value to moving more, and it doesn’t just have to be sports and exercise. It can be a five- or ten-minute bout throughout your day. That’s the first step is that general awareness of the value of moving.

 

Then we have to say to people: Here are some ways you can start moving today, and give them examples. We do that through Make Your Move and then Make Your Move at Work, and the workplace is a perfect domain for us to be targeting - how many of us are spending eight, ten, 12 hours a day working, probably sitting most of that time?

 

For those of us who are lucky enough to have the opportunity and the interest and ability to be active through sports and exercise, if we sit another nine, ten, 11 hours a day, that run or that visit to the gym or yoga studio isn’t going to mitigate the health risks we incur because we’re sitting all day. Everyone needs to hear this message about moving more because it’s going to make us feel good.

 

Dr. Hawker certainly will share messages with their patients about the health risks, but we want people to know you’ll actually feel better. You’ll feel good, if you move more and that’s going to be the motivating factor.

 

KELLY REGAN: In five years, we’ve increased awareness, but we have no information on whether we’ve actually increased activity? That is basically what I’m asking. We have no information on whether we’ve increased activity, or do we know that?

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Shelton.

 

ELAINE SHELTON: We monitor population-level statistics in Nova Scotia, and the first thing I want to say is that this is a long game. It takes a lot of work to change population levels of anything. We think back to the days of tobacco, when we first started to attend to the tobacco issue, it was decades before we had shifted that number.

 

In the early 2000s, some of you will probably remember that Nova Scotia was often noted as being the worst for many risk factors, and physical inactivity was one of those risk factors. For the adult population - by the late 2000s - we had caught up to the national level. It is possible to make some progress, and we have made some progress.

 

For a very long time, from 2003 until 2018, our seniors’ physical activity levels - ages 65 plus - were statistically lower than the national level, and that has actually improved in recent years. In 2018, we caught up to the national level, which is really important given the impact of physical activity on health care needs. As we have such a large aging population and inactivity increases with age and health declines with age, we want that older population to be as active as possible. That’s an important improvement that we’ve seen in recent years.

 

During the pandemic, physical activity rates in Nova Scotia were actually higher than the national rate for the 2020 measurement, and that is attributed to strong public health messaging around the importance of moving. That kind of gives you a sense of where we are with physical activity rates in comparison to Canada for the adult population. One thing I didn’t tell you is that the youngest adult population - the 18- to 35-year-olds - are actually more active than the national number.

 

KELLY REGAN: That was very helpful. That was what I was looking for.

 

One of the things that has concerned me for some time is that when we plan neighbourhoods, we don’t plan to put schools in there, so what we end up doing is busing our kids, and a great, easy way for kids to get some physical activity every day is to walk to their school.

 

You know, I am concerned about kids who spend a lot of time on school buses, and it’s not just in the rural areas - it happens in the city too. I was wondering if anyone could speak to the issue of planning communities and ensuring that we have schools built in a timely manner in a neighbourhood, et cetera because to me, that’s just a really easy way for kids to get exercise, number one, and also, it’s planning for an effective community.

 

Is anyone able to speak to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines highlighting the importance of movement and how these guidelines are actually being incorporated into our school systems and school planning? To me that’s job one, and once the school’s built, you can have all the great programs in it, but if we’re sitting in traffic for 20 minutes when we could have had something done so that we didn’t all have to sit there in our cars burning fossil fuels and ending up with gluteal amnesia, which I was just reading about the other day - also known as dead butt syndrome - which we’re at particular risk of in the Nova Scotia Legislature when we sit long hours. I was just wondering if anyone could speak to the importance of having schools located in neighbourhoods.

 

ELAINE SHELTON: I agree with you that school siting is an important part of a comprehensive approach to supporting children and youth to move more throughout the school day. You had referenced that the school setting provides opportunities to support movement in multiple ways as well.

 

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development launched their Physical Activity Framework for the school setting in 2023 in the Fall. That’s an exciting resource to support schools to think differently about how they encourage movement throughout the day.

 

The NS Active Smarter Kids Project is funded through education and through CCTH. It supports movement integrated into the classroom through the delivery of curriculum, which is a really exciting initiative, expanding our reach beyond sort of traditional sport and recreation programs.

 

We fund the Ecology Action Centre to do programming for active transportation to and from school, and Cycling Nova Scotia has some training programs as well for skill development for cycling. As we move forward and think about active transportation, school siting is certainly one of those things that there’s value in considering.

 

KELLY REGAN: I think about the importance of activity for populations that may be or have in the past been less likely to engage in physical activity - such as seniors, persons with disabilities - for whom there are often many barriers. Simply getting out to a gym can be a struggle for someone for whom the act of showering is quite difficult or getting dressed is a big thing, and then to say: Oh, now you’re dressed, now you have to go out and do some more.

 

What are we doing to help those folks ensure that they get physical activity? I am thinking about the ParticipACTION Report Card that highlights declining physical activity in certain age groups. What are we doing to help counteract that?

 

ELAINE SHELTON: I think that you’ve raised an important question. The things we’re doing to support that aging population to move more includes the redefining movement message. We have to ensure that people understand they don’t have to go to the gym. They don’t have to do something complicated, that’s more resource intensive, that you might need a car for, you might have to have a shower, maybe you need special clothes to fit in at the gym.

 

Redefining movement is part of what we’re trying to do. The NS Walks initiative - funded through the Active Communities Fund - is a really important initiative in this regard as well. Since the program started, over 500 people have been trained as walking leaders, and a lot of seniors engage in that initiative.

 

The preferred activity for that age group is walking by a large margin. When we ask them in surveys what they want to do, a very large margin are saying they just want to walk more. So that’s a really important part of what we’re doing - providing more opportunities for just simple movement like walking. We do it through funding the NS Walks program but also through our Municipal and Mi’kmaw Physical Activity Leadership Programs.

 

We’re funding individuals across the province to develop and implement community-wide physical activity strategies, and we have two outcomes in there that we’re asking them to drive towards that relate to walking. One is around providing social supports for walking, and one is providing enhancements to the built environment, so safer walking opportunities. Some MPALs have done things like provided indoor walking opportunities that are appealing to seniors in the Winter. That’s a new innovation in the last few years. They might be doing things like putting benches throughout their community so that people have a chance to rest. You have to remember it feels a little counterintuitive that a bench supports movement, but it actually does for people who are less active because they need to rest every little while.

 

[9:30 a.m.]

 

Through the Active Communities Fund we fund a variety of initiatives, including things that support persons with disabilities. A couple of examples I can think of there are Mobi-Mats - we funded some Mobi-Mats that are essentially mats that you put on a beach to allow people to wheel down to the water. Accessible swings - and many MPALs have equipment loan programs and some of them include accessible equipment in their loan programs.

 

THE CHAIR: MLA Regan, with five and a half minutes.

 

KELLY REGAN: Thank you very much, Chair. With that, I’m going to pass the rest of our time to my colleague.

 

THE CHAIR: MLA Kerr.

 

CARMAN KERR: You just mentioned the Active Communities Fund. I understand the challenges met or the gaps filled on the disability front, but what about rural communities? How does government measure the long-term impact of that program in a rural setting? What I’m thinking of is, in general but also rurally in Annapolis, we don’t have the recreation facilities or certain programming that you may find in HRM.

 

Anyone can comment on that, but maybe start with Ms. Shelton.

 

ELAINE SHELTON: I just want to clarify the question: You are looking for information on how we are measuring the long-term impact?

 

CARMAN KERR: How do we measure the long-term impact or the effectiveness of that program in rural communities?

 

ELAINE SHELTON: Impact - we are measuring process. Impact we are looking at through physical activity statistics, the big picture overall. We’re measuring process measures through the Active Communities Fund, so things like: Who do we fund? What do they do? Is it in the physical environment or the social environment? Who do they target? That kind of thing, so we are definitely measuring things.

 

With our Communities on the Move initiative, where we are supporting four and now five communities to take a comprehensive approach to addressing physical activity. We have comprehensive measurement there. We would do those process measures like: What are people perceiving what’s happening in their community? What is their self-reported physical activity? What are their preferences? What are they doing in their community? Then we are using objective measures like, we have researchers who are doing count observations.

 

In the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, a rural community, students will go in once a year to designated sites and they’ll count the number of people cycling, walking, their ages. They’ll look at diversity, gender - perceived gender. They also use accelerometry. An accelerometer is similar to a pedometer but it’s more complex and it measures all different types of movement. Dalhousie will use accelerometry in those four sites - four of the five sites - to see if there’s any change in overall movement over the years of the program.

 

CARMAN KERR: Thank you, and pardon me, did you mention five locations to do a deep dive? What are those five communities? Is there a plan or a project to expand that once we’ve gathered a certain amount of data? Is there a timeline to roll that out across the province?

 

ELAINE SHELTON: The four communities that we started with - the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, Yarmouth, Wagmatcook First Nation, and the Town of Lockeport - those communities receive support through some funding and the connection to the Dalhousie University research team. They’re part of this learning and engagement network that we have now, so we’re all learning. I’m learning and our staff are learning and they’re learning from each other. We have an agreement with them for about three and a half years. At the end of that three-and-a-half-year agreement, Dalhousie University will be putting together a report for us. We’ll look at that report and consider implications for programming in the future.

 

The Town of New Glasgow joined very recently. They have a shorter agreement. They are kind of in a different role, where they’re more part of the learning network but not so much part of the research piece.

 

CARMAN KERR: I think Mr. Greenlaw mentioned - was there $1.6 million this year for that fund? I could be wrong.

 

Could you comment on how many applications we received for that fund, and maybe how many applications weren’t successful, based on funding?

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Aucoin.

 

MICHELLE AUCOIN: The $1.6 million was a combination of the Active Communities Fund and the Connect2 funding, which funds more active transportation. In the last fiscal year, we had 76 applications, and all of them were funded. I would say those applications - our staff worked closely with communities to get them to a point where we were confident they would meet the requirements of the fund.

 

THE CHAIR: MLA Kerr with 10 seconds.

 

CARMAN KERR: I want to thank you for your responses, and hopefully I get more time later on.

 

THE CHAIR: Maybe. That’s the end of the Liberal caucus’s time, so it will be the NDP next. MLA Leblanc.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: Thank you all for being here. Big fan of physical activity over here. I just want to dispel any myths, lest the people from CCTH think that I am only interested in arts and culture. (Laughter) I am also extremely interested in all things around physical activity. I am an athlete - was an athlete, excuse me. I walked to work this morning from north end Dartmouth - I walked across the bridge. I walked past all of those cars stopped on the bridge. It’s really important to me.

 

I think, as a woman between the ages of 40 and 60, and as someone whose mental health took a bit of a dive during the pandemic, physical activity has been a conscious effort to do. Physical activity has been very important to my life.

 

The challenge, of course, is the time it takes. Today I happened to have not slept very well, so I got up at 5:45 a.m., and got my kids’ lunches ready, figured out what I was going to wear, figured out what they were going to wear, and managed to leave my house by eight o’clock so I could be here for nine o’clock. Not everyone has that luxury. Most people need to be at work a lot earlier than nine o’clock.

 

I guess my question, or my comment, is around the time. Taking bits of time out of your day to do things is important, so I want to dig into that a little bit. I will also say, just to toot my own horn, my colleague will remember that when I was caucus chair of the NDP, I implemented a thing called “Sue’s stretch seconds,” which was when we had these long, epic, three-hour caucus meetings, which I was chairing. I would stop every hour or so, and I’d be like: All right, time for Sue’s stretch seconds, and then everyone would have to do some. I mean, most people just walked to the bathroom, but my friend - one of our staff - and I would do plank competitions and those kinds of things. Anyway, it’s really important, and it put everyone in a good mood, didn’t it?

 

GARY BURRILL: I was sore for two years. (Laughter)

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: Anyway, my point is, how do we actually get the message out to workplaces that these kinds of things are important?

 

I’m also a big fan - and my colleagues will attest to this - I’m a big fan of competition. Are there incentives? How can we make it a contest for workplaces to be more active? How can - what is the incentive, besides a healthier workplace? Let’s face it: It’s hard to evaluate that in a sort of shorter time period. How are we actually getting workplaces and everyone to do that little bit of exercise for a little bit of time, so that it’s not this epic thing where you have to take an hour out of your day or go to the gym or whatever? I guess I’d like to ask Ms. Copeland that first, or Mr. Greenlaw.

 

THE CHAIR: Mr. Greenlaw.

 

BILL GREENLAW: I said in my opening remarks that I walk around the office; I walk around the office and I get 5,000 steps in. It’s those little things, walking to the water cooler. The Healthy Tomorrow Foundation has a whole toolbox on how to incentivize, et cetera. Kerry’s wearing one of our incentives - the little rewards that we give offices that are doing that. So there is a little bit of competition or acknowledgement or validation of the effort. I just wanted to point that out.

 

The best exercise equipment is yourself, and I think we live it. That helps get past - by the way, once you’re an athlete, you’re always an athlete. You can’t not be an athlete - good to know. I was a swimmer, but I can’t find an hour and a half to walk up to Centennial Pool and swim and come back, so I walk. Literally I get 5,000 steps in a day when I’m in the office just by walking around the floor and doing that. I’m not a texter. If you’re next door, I don’t phone you. I think that’s silly. I get up and talk and walk. My staff will say they appreciate it, but the jury’s out. We’ll see what they really think at some later date. I’ll just pass it over with those remarks to Kerry.

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Copeland.

 

KERRY COPELAND: Wow, I can’t stop smiling. I have this for you - I actually brought one of these for everybody. It’s a light-up arm band that says: Make Your Move. Not everyone may use it to walk. It’s for safety, but if you keep it on your desk, it will be a reminder. So often we don’t move because we just don’t think about it. We’re caught up in other things. To answer your question about how we incentivize workplaces, that includes the senior leadership as well as the employees. I think with the senior leadership, there’s a lot of data that we can provide through our toolkit and when we do presentations or meetings, that show them there are dividends for the organization from a productivity bottom-line work culture.

 

For the individual there are benefits, getting back to what I mentioned earlier about feeling better physically, mentally, being more productive, better work satisfaction, better relationships with colleagues. There are a lot of both extrinsic and internal benefits that can come. I think depending on the audience, you share different information to incentivize them. Then it takes champions like you. It takes individuals, whether it’s with your colleagues, whether it’s in the House where you see if you can do a stretch break or standing break or bio break, you start to model behaviour so that people who haven’t had a chance to experience how good they can feel moving, do so.

 

It’s a comprehensive approach, just like Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia: An action plan for increasing physical activity in Nova Scotia. It takes senior leaders to set examples and model, to incorporate policies and practices. Our program Make Your Move at Work has policies and practices and programs that organizations can take. If it’s contests they want to do, we have a movement contest. Not everybody can do a step contest, per se. Maybe it’s: I took the long way to the washroom. I did a stretch break while I was waiting for the microwave. There are a lot of ways people can move, and you tailor it to what suits best for that particular culture.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: Another population who works from home or who maybe don’t work outside of the home in a typical employment situation, KidSport Canada is a really awesome programs for kids or families who may not be able to afford the registration for activities. Is there any kind of adult version of KidSport or is that being considered? I think about all of the opportunities in Dartmouth North for classes, pickleball, the paddling clubs, all of those things, but cost must be a barrier to people. Is there anything being considered around that?

 

BILL GREENLAW: I have spoken to different people about the need for a KidSport, particularly for adults on income assistance, because it’s a barrier. I’ve had that discussion with my colleagues at DCS, and that’s in a preliminary stage, but certainly have flagged that. It’s sport, recreation, and physical activity, so an adult could use it in theory for memberships or to do something not necessarily to join the soccer club, which is KidSport. It’s in preliminary discussions, and certainly it’s in my psyche and my consciousness, so that’s where I can tell you it is.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: Great. Even if there was something around subsidizing establishments. I know that the Zatzman Sportsplex in Dartmouth does have a limited number of pay-what-you-can memberships, and I know people who take advantage of those. They’re life changing. That’s great. I’m glad that that’s being talked about.

 

[9:45 a.m.]

 

BILL GREENLAW: Just to build upon that, we do have access to recreation facilities through the libraries. You can get a card and have access to certain facilities around the province. You go to the library and you sign it out, and you get an access card for a week. There is the free Equipment Loan Program. Particularly, we provided Sport Nova Scotia with funding to increase the equipment for para-athletes because para-equipment - particularly wheelchairs - is extremely expensive so we’re trying to reduce the barriers in that way as well.

 

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a direct application to support adults in participating, but the access, the loan program, the facility access program that we have, Active Communities Fund will pay for an hour for certain groups to go in and have the pool or the gym as well. We get lots of applications from communities for that access as well.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: Thinking about the obvious connections between health and wellness, nutrition, and physical activity, I actually just heard on my 40-minute walk down here that there’s lots of science coming out around young people and the iron deficiencies causing depression and fatigue. I’m wondering about that connection to nutrition. I’m thinking about my 12-year-old daughter.

 

Is there work being done with Doctors Nova Scotia or with Make Your Move or Healthy Tomorrow Foundation and NSHA, like the whole ecology of wellness in Nova Scotia - at least government-funded wellness - around the connection between nutrition and physical activity, and also the connection between the health centres or the health home philosophy and CCTH? I know that there are deputy minister tables and all that stuff, but are those things being discussed right now? If so, what can be shared about what is going in?

 

THE CHAIR: Dr. Hawker.

 

DR. LEISHA HAWKER: I can speak briefly from a physician perspective, especially working at the Newcomer Health Clinic that serves refugees. Almost all our children and women have iron deficiency. It’s almost universal. Then in my regular practice as well - typically, especially a woman if they are fatigued, their iron’s often low, so it’s very, very common in Nova Scotia. It’s very easy to supplement too, though.

 

There is an issue with income assistance where it’s over the counter. It’s not under the Nova Scotia Formulary, so I’m just flagging that for you all. I often give handouts in Arabic on iron-rich foods. I often recommend something called the Lucky Iron Fish, which was designed by a Canadian actually. You just put it in your water with a little bit of lemon juice. It increases the iron in that water and then people can use it to cook their rice, their spaghetti noodles, make smoothies with it, you name it. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to increase iron.

 

How it relates to movement though, I think a lot of times if you’re trying to incorporate movement more into your life - you have that natural dopamine, you’re feeling better, you’re a little bit more health conscious, so then when you’re going for your snack after your walk, you’re just a little bit more likely to make healthier food choices too because your body’s wanting to be fueled that way as well. They are directly linked.

 

I don’t have any statistics to back up that claim, but I think from personal experience - and a lot of you have probably experienced that as well - the more you’re trying to move in your life, the more you have a natural tendency to eat better as well.

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Aucoin.

 

MICHELLE AUCOIN: I would just add, with respect to the Nova Scotia Before and After Program, which we do in partnership with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, part of the guidelines that are baked in there are 90 minutes of physical activity and a healthy snack, so there’s a definite correlation and importance there.

 

Mr. Greenlaw also mentioned money that we had provided to Sport Nova Scotia to provide more opportunities for folks who typically aren’t able to access the programming. Sport Nova Scotia created some guidelines, but then found that they had to adjust the guidelines because of the importance of food and a healthy snack. They were finding that children were coming to the programs hungry once and then never coming back, or not coming but then when they realized they could have a snack, they were more likely to return. I think we’re definitely starting to see the value of it and kind of the evolution of guidelines to appreciate that they’re tied.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: It feels like a really big part of this whole conversation, the Department of Health and Wellness part. I know you’re not that department, but this stuff about the newcomers in general having iron deficiencies is really interesting. I know that the Department of Health and Wellness is working toward health centres. Dartmouth North is getting a community health centre - not a community health centre, but a health home. I wonder about how CCTH could be connected to that in terms of, once it’s open and there is the dietician, the social worker, and the primary care folks, is there an opportunity to incorporate a walking club or a nutrition program, or whatever? That kind of thing.

 

I’m also, of course, thinking about Dartmouth North, where there is lots of food insecurity. I’m wondering about your thoughts on food insecurity as a barrier to physical activity. You’ve said that your body tends to crave high protein or different things after you’ve exercised, but what if you can’t afford it? What if your snacks in your cupboard are not healthy snacks?

 

LEISHA HAWKER: I think this is an excellent time to talk about the awesome things that the North End Community Health Centre does, which I’m also very fortunate to work at. We have a dietician, and she’s very well versed in eating healthily on a budget. She has really good cooking classes that she started doing during COVID-19 where she, by video, would teach how to cook healthy meals that were low in cost. We have a good food box program that you can sign up for; I think it’s $7. You get a massive brown-paper bag of fruits and veggies that would serve one to two people for nearly two weeks. We have a pantry program for school-aged kids to come and get healthy snacks for schools.

 

I’m not sure if it’s still currently running, but for many years we had a North End walkers’ group, where they get together. It was mostly seniors who would get together and walk around the North End together. I think it was found from a focus group from one of our annual meetings that many seniors in the North End didn’t feel safe moving more on their own, so the walking group helped.

 

Looking at things that are already working well in some communities and then expanding it when you do have your community health centre in North Dartmouth. For example, looking at the North End Community Health Centre and the things that are working really well in this neighbourhood.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: I’m just going to switch over to the Active Communities Fund. I just have a couple of questions about that. The Active Communities Fund, can you share how many applications were received, say, in the last year or two, and then how much funding was awarded? Is there an equal distribution of funding across regions of the province, or is it just sort of who applies? Is there work being done to make sure that every region of the province is applying for the funds?

 

BILL GREENLAW: This is the second time we’ve been asked about the number of applications, the number that we fund. We get this question quite a bit when we come to committee. The budget envelope is $1.2 million for the Active Communities Fund, and you can have good projects that cost a lot of money; you could have a lot of little projects. Actually, the number does not correlate or is not an indicator of success. It’s the outcomes of what we fund that are the indicators of success. This one, we had 77 applications, and all were funded last year. They were all great projects, but if we had 45, that would be equally as successful in my mind because they just cost more. Maybe their impact was the same or greater, it just depends on the year.

 

I would also add that we are pretty good at equally distributing the Active Communities grants across the province and there’s no deadline to Active Communities grants, right? It’s a constant intake until we run out of money.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: I know we’re running out of time, so I appreciate that. The question really is trying to get at how many applications don’t get funded. You say you fund until you run out of money, but is there a sense that you need more money for more projects?

 

BILL GREENLAW: I guess the cheeky answer is the file can always use more money. My kids need more money for their phones as well. It’s a matter of prioritizing. I think that we do very well with the money that we have to invest. Sure, to be honest, we can all use more money, but the reality is we have $1.2 million. It’s what we function with. It seems to have an impact in community. We have results with that. People’s wants and people’s needs are exponential.

 

MICHELLE AUCOIN: There were no applications that didn’t get filled out. The regional managers in each region work closely, knowing who wants money to try to make sure that everyone gets what they need to do what they want to do.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: Is there any tracking of marginalized communities to make sure? You’ve talked about Mi’kmaw communities in general, low-income. Any other marginalized communities - making sure that funding is being spread to those communities?

 

ELAINE SHELTON: I can say that what we track at this point in time is who the project is targeting. That’s not necessarily who’s receiving the money because a lot of the money goes to municipalities. Municipalities have a responsibility to target multiple populations. In the last fiscal year, 46 per cent of the projects that were funded were funded for individuals who have less access to opportunities, and 24 per cent went to those who are less active in general.

 

MICHELLE AUCOIN: We also provide money to our partner at Sport Nova Scotia, and they track the number of projects and the number of those marginalized populations that receive money. We do get an annual report on that.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: My last question is for Dr. Hawker. The great stuff that the North End Community Health Centre is doing - I love them and I think it is really important - but how do we get that stuff happening across the province where there are no community health centres with very intentional people thinking about those things?

 

THE CHAIR: Dr. Hawker, seven seconds.

 

LEISHA HAWKER: I think the key with the North End Community Health Centre is it was started by the community itself. It’s run by the board with community involvement . . .

 

THE CHAIR: Order. Next is the PC caucus. MLA Palmer.

 

CHRIS PALMER: I didn’t know if you were going to ask for our fitness break that we usually have here. (Laughter)

 

THE CHAIR: No, Grampy, no.

 

CHRIS PALMER: This is a great conversation. My fitness app tells me I didn’t close my ring today, I didn’t close my rings yesterday. I know I have to do better, and when I come to Halifax and I have to walk down here from my apartment, my mid-50s legs remind me that I need to get used to the hills here in Halifax, that’s for sure. I also want to give a little shout-out to a community walking group back home in Berwick called the Jabberwalkers, who are a group of about 15 to 20 every Friday. I’ve had a chance to walk with them a few times but probably not enough.

 

My first question - I guess I’ll send this out to CCTH, and then I think maybe, Dr. Hawker, you had mentioned the Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia action plan. You called it trail-blazing I think; I’m not sure who said that in the opening statement. I know we’ve talked a little bit already, but can you maybe go back and reiterate and just dig down deeper into how the plan aims to impact culture? We know it takes time to impact culture. I think Michelle, you mentioned this as well. Can you just maybe talk about a little bit more on how that plan aims to change the impact on the culture movement in our province?

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Shelton.

 

ELAINE SHELTON: Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia was developed in 2018 as a response to the common vision for increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary behaviour in Canada. That was an FPT call to action on movement in Canada. That’s also related to a World Health Organization Call to Action, a physical activity plan that they released around about the same time.

 

Nova Scotia was the first province in Canada to respond to that call, and in November 2018, we released Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia. The idea of Let’s Get Moving is that it’s under an umbrella of an awareness initiative that we now know as Make Your Move. It addresses key settings. It addresses the school setting, and it addresses early childhood, workplace setting, community setting, and health care. It’s supported by a foundation of community-based strategy, and those strategies are Municipal and Mi’kmaw Physical Activity Leadership strategies. They’re key to the success of this whole initiative.

 

[10:00 a.m.]

 

Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia was strategically designed so that the messaging of the provincial Make Your Move campaign would create synergies with on-the-ground work through the MPAL initiative. Municipal and Mi’kmaw physical activity leaders focus on the same thing that the campaign is focusing on. They have outcomes that they’re trying to deliver related to walking and other simple movement types of activities, as well as local policy change.

 

It is closely related to the Eight Investments That Work for Physical Activity. This is an International Society for Physical Activity and Health guiding document for the field. We’ve hit on each of those eight investments in our strategy. The investments are: whole-of-school approaches, and they’re around active transportation, workplace setting, health care, physical activity counselling, media and communications, whole-of-community approaches, and sport and recreation for all.

 

That’s funny, because a lot of the emphasis in Let’s Get Moving Nova Scotia is actually on the other seven investments, complementing the great work that was already happening in Nova Scotia related to sport and recreation for all. Traditionally we think about moving through those ways like sport and recreation and going to the gym and training for marathons and running and that kind of thing, but let’s get out into these other seven areas and see if we can make some progress. All of these things together, over time, hopefully will contribute to a culture change, as we’re putting emphasis on that simple movement and just incorporating a little bit of movement here and there throughout the day.

 

THE CHAIR: MLA Palmer, did you want to hear from Dr. Hawker?

 

CHRIS PALMER: Yes. I’ll maybe just add to this, and you might be able to talk on this. Exposing young people and getting investments in young people early - that does create a bit more of a lifestyle probably - lifelong willingness and wanting to be active. Would you agree that that makes sense?

 

THE CHAIR: Dr. Hawker.

 

DR. LEISHA HAWKER: I’m definitely more active since having a four-year-old. (Laughter) I met my 150 minutes just when I was walking in here. I got over 100 on Sunday just chasing her around. She always wants to walk or scooter or bike to school. I can do it in 15 or 20 minutes, but where it’s a four-year-old who just may or may not stop and look at a dandelion every 10 seconds, it sometimes takes a while, and I need to get to work on time. We try to do it as much as we can.

 

It’s important that when you think about movement, you’re not thinking - she’s in tons of activities and sports, but just yesterday after dinner, we went to the park and threw the frisbee for a little while. She’s helping Dad in the vegetable garden. Encouraging people to make it a part of their regular daily activities and community - so you see people walking more, then maybe you’re more likely to go for a walk. If you have a community garden in your neighbourhood, you’re helping. Gardening is really good activity. Weeding those stubborn weeds, you’re tired at the end of a day of doing that.

 

Just simple things like joyful movement, like dancing, listening to music while you’re doing dishes in the kitchen - things like that. Your kids see it, and they pick up on it, and that becomes their culture. Then the Kids’ Run Club - we actually have multi-generational impact now. We have some physicians and medical students who were Kids’ Run Club alumni, who are helping coach the youth who are participants now. It’s really fantastic to see.

 

CHRIS PALMER: A lot of our health care in the past has always seemed to be treatment of disease when the disease comes, and the “wellness” part of health and wellness - it’s nice to see that we’re moving toward really working to invest in that, to prevent the things that we have to do on the other end with illness.

 

I’m going to ask Dr. Hawker, and anybody else who would like to comment on it: What’s the real impact, the health care impact, of investing in the wellness side and these recreational opportunities and active living, from a health care perspective? I guess the burden that’s not there, having to treat disease. Can you maybe, from a medical standpoint, talk about that? And anybody else who would like to speak about that?

 

LEISHA HAWKER: In my practice, I see a lot of injury and diseases from sedentary behaviour. When COVID-19 started, MLA Regan was talking about - was it one of your children working from home? - I had many patients with neck and back pain and stiffness when we first started all working from home - hunched over the phone and not having an ergonomic workspace.

 

I also have a lot of patients who aren’t able to access the gym. Zatzman Sportsplex has that wonderful program - sometimes there’s a wait-list for it - encouraging people to move, regardless of the illness. Pretty much, physical activity is a great treatment for almost every illness or disease under the sun. If you’re depressed, if you have dementia - a lot of people think just diabetes and heart disease, but it’s really all-encompassing, especially when the wait time for things like physiotherapy is several months in many communities in Nova Scotia now. Oftentimes the family practice nurse or the physicians are trying to fill that gap and teaching a home exercise program that patients can be doing while they’re waiting.

 

ELAINE SHELTON: In Bill’s opening remarks he included some statistics around the relationship between inactivity and specific diseases. I think that the 40 per cent association of physical inactivity with dementia is striking. It’s something that requires reflection. Other chronic diseases that are very common - cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, these are the big ones, and physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for these things.

 

As we are thinking about the context of our current health care system and the challenges we’re facing, we need to be thinking about getting adults moving. I appreciate the comment about the importance of creating physical literacy, essentially, with children so that it becomes a lifelong connection to physical activity. We can also get adults moving as adults.

 

Some research has shown that it’s not too late to become active as an adult. In one study they took 40- to 61-year-olds and got them active and found that the mortality benefits were similar to those achieved by maintaining activity from adolescence to later adulthood. We don’t have to. We need to be focused on children and youth, but right now we’ve got a health care situation, so that adult population is so important.

 

The town of Albert Lea, Minnesota - I don’t know if any of you watched the Netflix series on the Blue Zones. Did anybody happen to watch that? Blue Zones is a really interesting initiative where an individual looked at key locations across the world where there was longevity - sound familiar? - and then he identified some common characteristics of these communities. Then what he did is he went to the United States and tried to create the scenario in the United States. The town he started with was Albert Lea, Minnesota. He tried to make changes with lots of partners. The community bought into this whole idea of making changes in their physical environment, their social environment, and policy to support daily movement. They were successful in increasing physical activity levels of the adult population, in addition to children and youth. I think that’s a really important target group, given our current situation.

 

It is important. It is possible to change adult physical activity behaviour. It requires a comprehensive approach, like what we’re trying to do through Communities on the Move.

 

THE CHAIR: Mr. Greenlaw.

 

BILL GREENLAW: I just want to expand on the comprehension of approach. I view this as an ecosystem. If you look at the Albert Lea model - and this will sound familiar to Nova Scotians - it was kind of a quasi-industrial town, the paint plant burned down, they thought the community going to die. Not that we have this in Nova Scotia, but if you’ve driven through these towns in the United States, where they have four-lane highways right through the middle of it, with this stuff on either side - really Albert Lea was not conducive to having an environment of walking and inclusivity.

 

Part of the Blue Zone was they actually took away the four-lane highway, made it more of a main street. They had this wonderful lake in the middle of the town that had no walking access around it, so they re-did that and created walking trails around the lake.

 

There’s no one thing that works; it’s a combination of things. It’s a whole-of-community approach. I just wanted to expand upon that. It’s like our investments in infrastructure, our investments in supporting the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation, our investments over here all contribute to this movement and the beauty and the attractiveness of this initiative, and we’re not unique in doing it. I’ve read a couple of national reports on physical activity and sport, and this movement is the key. Those of us - if we’re working from home - it’s: Oh, I went out and chopped wood, I don’t think I was being physically active. Actually, you should pat yourself on the back because that’s really important for you to do.

 

On the Make Your Move at Work video, if you go in and look at the videos on their website, when they’re at the Delmore “Buddy” Daye Learning Institute, they did a little verbal debrief. The team at the Delmore “Buddy” Daye Learning Institute had moved the water cooler close to their offices and they realized that they didn’t have to go very far to get their water. The one comment from a gentleman was: We actually were doing ourselves a disservice to our bodies and to our long-term health by having the water cooler so close. They moved it back so they would get their steps in.

 

It’s all of these little things that combine. We just need to be diligent in communicating the message: Hey, you walked to the grocery store. That’s great. We don’t celebrate fundamental movement enough and recognize the importance of that on our health outcomes over the long run. I think if we can get that message out, we’ll have achieved a lot.

 

CHRIS PALMER: Sorry, you’ve said that. The only comment I’ll make is that I try to park a little bit of a distance to remind myself it’s okay to get out and walk, even if there’s a parking spot close. That’s the only thing I’ll say. Thank you for all your answers and the work you’re doing. I’d like to pass it over to my colleague, MLA Young.

 

THE CHAIR: MLA Young.

 

NOLAN YOUNG: I’ve got a couple of just short ones, and I’ll pass it on to MLA Boudreau. Mr. Greenlaw, you mentioned access cards at libraries. Can you just expand on that a little bit, or whoever?

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Aucoin.

 

MICHELLE AUCOIN: It’s a partnership between the libraries and some municipalities where you can go to the library - I know the Sackville Sports Stadium has it - you go to the library, you get a little fob. You can keep it for a week. I mean, you can continue to sign it out and sign it out, and then you can go to the Sackville Sports Stadium and use it to access their facilities. That exists in a number of places across HRM and across our province.

 

NOLAN YOUNG: I wanted to get into Make Your Move Communities. As we know, there are five communities that were participating in this initiative. I actually was able to attend one of the events in Lockeport, and I was really surprised - and happily surprised - and enjoyed it. I wondered if you could just perhaps tell us a little more about the initiatives and how this supports the residents move.

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Shelton.

 

ELAINE SHELTON: Communities on the Move is based on investment number eight of the eight investments that work for physical activity - as I referenced earlier - and this is that comprehensive approach that happens in a geographical community. This comprehensive approach includes adjustments to the physical environment or built environment. It includes social environments adjustments and policy.

 

Community-wide approaches do better when they’re very focused on a specific area and intense. For our Communities on the Move initiative, the focus area is simple movement, so this walking, cycling, gardening, unstructured active play, those things that are easily accessed. As I was talking about, the town of Albert Lea is an example of a community that successfully implemented a community-wide physical activity initiative, and they were able to improve physical activity rates as a result of that.

 

In Nova Scotia, we talked about the communities that are involved. The Municipality of the County of Antigonish is the superstar among the communities. All of the communities are moving along, they’re just in different places. There’s been some staff turnover in some communities, which has slowed things down a little bit, but I can tell you in more depth about what’s happening in Antigonish to give you a sense of what’s going on.

 

Part of the agreement with us is that they’ll set up a leadership committee, and the leadership committee is essentially supposed to have influencers from the community who will sit around the table and help plan the development of a strategy. Most of the communities do have leadership committees set up. It took about a year for all of the communities to get settled.

 

Antigonish, in their first year, got their leadership committee set up and they developed their plan. They launched what is now known as Make Your Move Antigonish in the Spring of 2023. Part of our agreement with them is that they’ll leverage the Make Your Move campaign. We’re trying to create all those synergies between the overall umbrella of the campaign and what’s happening on the ground. They were very happy to do that because they can access all of these great resources and branding. I encourage you to follow Make Your Move Antigonish on Facebook because you can get a sense of all the great stuff that’s happening there.

 

[10:15 a.m.]

 

They had a big launch when they started - they engaged local media. They have a good social media following so a lot of what they are doing is messaging, leveraging Make Your Move messaging, and trying to encourage people to think differently about movement. They have partnered with a number of different key organizations, like local schools. They’ve had a couple of big events at local schools. They had a couple of walking school buses in the last few days. If you go on their Facebook page, you can get a real good sense - the visuals are quite astounding. Everybody is wearing those beautiful pink t-shirts. It’s just a sea of kids walking through the community. Our colleague Eric was there. He said that the whole community was alive. People were beeping and honking and yelling out their windows, and the kids had a great time.

 

They partnered with workplaces. St. Francis Xavier University is involved in Make Your Move at Work, and the community Make Your Move Antigonish team, is kind of a liaison there, and their own workplace, the municipality themselves, have taken up Make Your Move at Work.

 

They have also had a number of different community events that encourage things like active play or gardening skills. When you look at the Facebook page, you really get a sense that they are creating a movement - that they are really getting lots of people involved and that people are starting to identify as being part of this movement.

 

We’ve done some research in these communities. It’s very early on. We did a survey in the Fall of 2023. They had just launched in the Spring of 2023. We also had a provincial-level survey at the same time. We can see that in Lockeport and Antigonish there is increased awareness of having heard movement messaging.

 

We also segment out the less active population because they are the ones we are really concerned about. We want to get them to move more than they are moving now, just to reap those massive benefits to get at that . . .

 

THE CHAIR: Order. The time for the PC caucus has expired. The next round will be eight minutes each.

 

MLA Kerr.

 

CARMAN KERR: We try to lead by example. I think I’m quite active with my young kids at home, and certainly was an athlete and will pretend to be one, according to Mr. Greenlaw now. Maybe there’s a challenge amongst all the MLAs in the Legislature to become the fittest legislature in the country, or the most active legislature, but we can discuss that at another time. (Interruptions) Yes, exactly.

 

My question would be - I asked one on the Communities on the Move and the five communities that were chosen - how were those communities chosen? I guess that’s the first question: How were those communities chosen for that initial in-depth walk?

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Shelton.

 

ELAINE SHELTON: We had an application process. We didn’t receive that many applications. We had a committee that reviewed the applications. The assessments were based on readiness because it’s a big thing to step into this. You really have to know what you’re getting into. Readiness was a big piece of it, also leveraging infrastructure. Because we’re trying to do changes to the built environment, and our budget wasn’t so much about sidewalks and pathways - it wasn’t at that level - we were looking for communities that had new investments or had existing walking, cycling infrastructure that wasn’t being maximized in terms of usage. Antigonish, for instance, had a big active transportation corridor project that they were working on, so that was a big piece of it.

 

Another piece was ability to address inclusion. We wanted to make sure that we were looking at that as well.

 

CARMAN KERR: As the MLA for Annapolis, I have a number of groups that remain active and want to be more active. I’m thinking of a group that I’ve mentioned in other committees - ACOSS in Bridgetown. They’ve taken over the track and the athletic complex. At several meetings they’ve mentioned they want to be the most fit community in the country, or be known as. Maybe I can work with the department on how to bring information to them and they can close that gap, and maybe be included down the road on that project or that program.

 

As a dad of two young kids, there’s a gap - it seems to be, in a number of elementary schools in the Valley - with playground equipment and sporting equipment. I’ve been a part of, as MLA and as a parent, spending years trying to raise funds to get more playground equipment or physical exercise equipment, and by the time we’re done, the kids have graduated on to another school and you feel obligated to complete that commitment.

 

My question would be: With that gap, is there a role that CCTH plays with the Department of Health and Wellness and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to close that gap so it doesn’t fall on those parents and community groups?

 

THE CHAIR: Mr. Greenlaw.

 

BILL GREENLAW: We do fund a number of playgrounds and schools. If there’s something, we have the Recreation Facility Development Grant that would help support that. We’ve supported many, particularly the accessible playgrounds and outdoor play-based playgrounds across the province. I would say that’s one avenue. We’re always working with our colleagues at DHW and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development on these initiatives. As we’ve partnered, we have a good relationship with regard to our NS Active Smarter Kids Project, which targets, currently, elementary schools, and there’s a desire to move that into junior high, so continue to move it on.

 

Ms. Shelton spoke to NS Active Smarter Kids earlier, and I just want to say it is an amazing program. It’s an amazing resource for teachers. Not only does it have kids being physically active in the classroom, but it also - if you think about it, if anybody had to teach me in elementary school, I needed to be - I take 5,000 steps now in my day in the office - I needed some physical activity in my class. I went to the Bluenose Academy in Lunenburg and sat and watched this happening as they were doing math. They were running back and forth getting bean bags and doing formulas and whatever, which was quite good. They were all enjoying it. They didn’t really know they were learning.

 

Just as an aside, in countries where this is more regularly implemented, there is a direct correlation to increased math and literacy scores, as well, because of the attention. I’m sure MLA White in his teaching would appreciate this as a class management tool, as they call it. I went in and I sat down, and then we did a debrief. I only remember the kid’s name because it was my name. It was little Billy. The teacher went around the class and said: How is this making an impact on all of you? Little Billy was just squirming, really squirming to get his answer out, but he didn’t get picked first. He finally put his hand up and he goes: Last year I had lots of ants in my pants, and this year I don’t, and I feel so much better in the class. That just sums it up.

 

That is the importance of being physically active, helping you stay focused, and the reward that that child had about his self-worth in the classroom was also elevated. The class was attentive. I just wanted to add those little stories.

 

CARMAN KERR: What I’m trying to get to is: I know, Mr. Greenlaw, you mentioned the other programs. All applications were successful. There wasn’t a long waiting list of those that weren’t. Was that recreational facility fund oversubscribed? Certainly, your staff at home have been a great help, but I know there’s just a small pocket of money, I would consider - under $1 million, I think - for dozens and dozens of groups. I wonder - your answer is going to be yes, we’ll always take more funding, but there seems to be a gap there at our schools with keeping kids active on their playgrounds.

 

BILL GREENLAW: First of all, the RFD is about $1.6 million, and we leverage that. Yes, it’s always oversubscribed. What I can tell you is, if you work with our regional managers, if you’re not funded this year, I have not seen a good project not get funded eventually. It’s the patience game, it’s the long game. We help communities refine their applications so they have a better chance of being successful.

 

It comes down to community leadership. It’s a partnership. The school has to be ready. They have to raise some funds from the - they’re not called PTAs anymore, but the PTPs. They need to raise a bit of money. They can leverage $10,000 to get a nice playground, or $5,000 to get a nice playground. Playgrounds are shockingly expensive. A basic playground is, like, $50,000 and those wonderful ones with the logs and the natural environment, they’re pushing a quarter of a million dollars. This space is an expensive space as well.

 

I think we do a good job at meeting demand but again, it is that partnership. We advise. We consult. We incentivize. We need the communities; they are the activators and as we learned with some of the communities - there needs to be community leadership in order for it to have traction. I’ve always said . . .

 

THE CHAIR: Order. I think in mine, they’re called homemade schools. Eight minutes for MLA Leblanc.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: I’m wondering about high school requirements. These stories from the elementary schools sound amazing, but I know that when you go to high school, you have to take an art credit in grade ten, so it’s music or art or drama or visual arts. Are there requirements for gym or other physical activities in high school?

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Copeland.

 

KERRY COPELAND: I can offer a guessed answer that when my kids were in school, which was a while ago, they had to do one credit that was physical activity related within their three years at high school. Don’t quote me on that but I believe it’s quite limited. You’d have to check with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development on that.

 

THE CHAIR: Dr. Hawker.

 

DR. LEISHA HAWKER: I’ll just say in comparison, my daughter just started primary. She has gym Monday, Wednesday, Friday, on top of recess and outdoor play during a before and after school program. The difference is pretty startling.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: Yes, that’s my point, I think. I know a friend who was a high school yoga teacher. There were some people taking some classes like that, but it seems to me that that would be a place to put our focus, in terms of a province - re-integrating physical choices so that every year, like grade 10, 11, and 12, there is a requirement to take something that gets you moving. God knows - especially at that age - it’s really important to set those patterns in place, but also there’s a lot of non-movement just because of being a teenager.

 

I also wondered about the role of dance. Somebody said something about dancing around the kitchen when you’re washing your dishes. We had this really amazing moment the other night where, for some reason, my son asked us to all dance. He dances a lot, but we got up and I was teaching him how to social dance and it was really fun.

 

In terms of funding and that kind of thing, is there money to encourage dance? Does dance get included in physical activity buckets, I guess, is my question?

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Aucoin.

 

MICHELLE AUCOIN: Sometimes. I think the private dance schools would not have the ability to access our funding because they’re traditionally businesses. I think the not-for-profit dance organizations that enhance culture, I would say, have some opportunities through our partner at Sport Nova Scotia. I would say it’s very limited for dance.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: Well, again - just a thought. I think it would be good. Dancing is that movement, especially if it’s prolonged. Anyhow, I wanted to talk about active transportation for my last couple of minutes.

 

We heard Ms. Copeland talk about why she didn’t ride a bike. Well, I can think of a few reasons, and one of them is fear of being smooshed by a car, especially in HRM. We are getting better in HRM with our active transportation paths, but I’m wondering, in your opinion - and this may be for the two of you - is the Province doing enough to support active transportation development by establishing adequate infrastructure for active transportation?

 

[10:30 a.m.]

 

KERRY COPELAND: I may defer to Ms. Shelton, but I would just say I think you really touched on it when you said people are afraid of being smooshed. We are doing a lot to promote active transportation and certainly making a lot of drivers angry because we’re taking away spaces, and they do work. There’s evidence that they do work and keep riders safe. I think it’s a cultural shift that’s required, as well, and we know that biking’s not an option for everybody. It’s more likely people combining automotive transportation, parking further away and incorporating walking that I think will hit the masses, but I think probably Ms. Shelton has a better idea on the investments we’re making in active transportation, but perhaps not. I’ll pass it over to you.

 

THE CHAIR: Mr. Greenlaw.

 

BILL GREENLAW: I’ll risk trying to answer this. The responsibility for active transportation, particularly - we’ve now created the Joint Regional Transportation Agency for HRM. That’s a vehicle in partnership with the municipality. Really, our - you’ve heard me say this in different committees - we don’t tell communities what to do; we help incentivize and we educate them. The initiative with that information needs to come back to us from the municipality or the community, that they want to have an active transportation corridor, or they want to do this.

 

Our role is then to work with our colleagues at the Department of Public Works or on the infrastructure committees and figure out ways to help support applications for the federal AT funding, et cetera. We are a facilitator and navigator, but we can only inform and educate, we can’t make things happen in a community. That does not happen anymore, and that is not the appropriate way to do it. It has to be born from community first, and if it’s born from community, I think we can find ways to support it and we have evidence that we have supported it.

 

Yes, we can always do more, but we rely upon the municipal councils to see the benefit and how that will make their communities more attractive. All of these things can enhance the livability of living in community. I think the evidence supports that. Recreation facilities, AT corridors, sidewalks, et cetera, enhance the livability of a community. We need to help educate, show evidence that your tax base will increase. You’ll retain your population more in communities with these sorts of investments, but they have to come from community first.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: Great point. How does that happen then? Do you go and make presentations to councils and community groups and say exactly what you’ve just said? That it will increase your tax base, and give the pitch for thinking about this kind of thing? How does it all get started?

 

BILL GREENLAW: It’s a symbiotic thing, I think. As we talk about - we have municipal physical activity leaders; they’re leaders in community. They would start the discussion. They would have that initial discussion about the benefits, then we have our regional physical activity consultants. We have people in community who can help inform and educate and that’s kind of how we do it. We provide the municipality with half funding for those MPALs and we inform them about our Connect2 grants as well. There’s not a linear path; it’s a creative path, I guess is the best way to say it.

 

ELAINE SHELTON: I’d just add to that. We also fund a couple of provincial organizations: the Ecology Action Centre and Cycling Nova Scotia, who see it as their role to support communities in the development of active transportation plans as well.

 

THE CHAIR: MLA Leblanc, 15 seconds.

 

SUSAN LEBLANC: I’ll just say thank you very much. I think this has been a really great conversation. I’ve got lots of ideas and look forward to continuing it.

 

THE CHAIR: MLA White.

 

JOHN WHITE: So much to say in such little time. Born from community, I can’t think of a better group than Number Eleven Volunteer Society. These people took an empty, overgrown ballfield and turned it into an amazing facility. It’s a perfect example of “if you build, they’ll come.” They have seniors’ dinners and yoga. They have a Block Parent program that came from the field. It’s absolutely incredible. I’ve got to get my thoughts focused. I want to praise Number Eleven, but I’ve got a question I have to ask.

 

I’m wondering about the Community ACCESS-Ability Program and if you can help us understand how communities can access that. The reason I ask that is because I’ve seen that on the other end of my constituency with the Hawks Dream Field - absolutely incredible, the greatest resource - I want to say the greatest we have in the province. I think it’s the only fully accessible field in North America, with bocce ball courts, a splash pad, walking trails, resting areas, and a complete ballfield with artificial turf that’s accessible - absolutely incredible. I know that the Province was a great help on it. I know that for a fact, and I’m just wondering if you can help us understand how - because accessibility, it’s what we need. It’s good for everybody. If you could help us understand how communities can access that.

 

THE CHAIR: Ms. Aucoin.

 

MICHELLE AUCOIN: I think we address accessibility in a number of ways. We do have the Business ACCESS-Ability Program - which has an envelope of $1 million - so community organizations are able to access that funding specifically to help make them more accessible.

 

I would say through our other infrastructure grants, we see components of accessibility programs or facilities supported through those. I think accessibility is also baked into all of our programs. The MPAL, the Municipal and Mi’kmaw Physical Activity Leadership Program, also has a very strong accessibility lens.

 

Two years ago, we made a large investment to our partner at Sport Nova Scotia to really focus on providing more opportunities in sport and recreation from an accessibility perspective. One of the neat things that has happened there, when groups are trying to do para-sport programs, equipment is a huge cost. You think of a wheelchair basketball program, you can’t have that without chairs, but in the conversations, you need a storage place for those chairs. Once again, a grant was created by our partner at Sport Nova Scotia, and then they realized that it’s one thing to buy the chairs, but if you have nowhere to put them, what are you going to do with them? Now they’re funding sheds as an example or rental of space to house the chairs.

 

When our staff and our partners are thinking about it, we’re trying to think creatively and really meet the needs of the community when we look at trying to help persons with a disability especially. We also work closely with our partners at Special Olympics Canada to support their core operations, as well as a new partnership with Easter Seals Canada who have a program - I think it’s called the Take PART program- which really looks to provide opportunities for more physical activity, so now we cost-share a position with them to help support province-wide folks to have more opportunities to access physical activity opportunities.

 

THE CHAIR: Mr. Greenlaw.

 

BILL GREENLAW: I’d also say when your constituents or your community groups are looking at our accessibility funding programs or any of our funding programs, we try to also think about inclusion in reaching those barriers, so inclusion and access. Inclusion is more broadly defined: inclusion of people with intellectual or physical disabilities into a mainstream community group sport.

 

We want to take it to the next step, but I would also say MLA Leblanc raised an interesting point about funding certain groups. If you see that we don’t fund it, have a discussion with our regional managers and say: We think that this is missing. This is what we want to do. What is the art of the possible here?

 

Sometimes you just don’t think about it until somebody asks: Have you thought about that? and you say: Oh, we hadn’t thought about it that way before. Or it’s a learning. If it isn’t there, it doesn’t mean it can’t be possible within reason, I think. I just wanted to put that out there.

 

We’re always willing to have a discussion with you or members of your constituencies about the art of the possible and trying to see how we can help make your community more accessible, your citizens more physically active through simple movement. I just wanted to say that.

 

THE CHAIR: MLA Boudreau.

 

HON. TREVOR BOUDREAU: How much time do I have, Chair?

 

THE CHAIR: Two minutes, 45 seconds.

 

TREVOR BOUDREAU: I probably won’t get to a question, but I did want to take this opportunity to thank you all for coming in. Certainly, it’s no secret to a lot of my colleagues, I’m a health care provider as well. For years, I think the thing I’ve said the most in my practice is “movement is medicine” and it really is.

 

In our profession, I work with people who usually are coming in with a physical injury - it’s a sore back or a sore shoulder - and really, they’re often hesitant to move because they’re afraid of hurting it more. Really, what it’s about is really giving those people those tools and the understanding of what an injury is and how to overcome it, but then how to prevent it from happening in the first place. That’s really what movement is - it’s about preventing things in the first place. I think if I asked any of you up there - we know the costs of dealing with an injury or dealing with a chronic illness is a lot more costly dealing with it after the fact than it is preventing.

 

I watched Ms. Copeland standing here in the middle of the proceedings - and this is something you’ll see me do in the House. A lot of my colleagues will see that I’m often in the back of the room standing, and it’s in part because sitting down is one of the worst things you can do for your body for circulation, for pain. I was the Whip for the government in my job - how much time do I have? My job was to keep people in their seats, and it was a real struggle (laughter) for me to keep people in their seats when I really wanted to make sure that they were moving and being functional and being happy. In that line of work that we do, it can be a stressful place, and movement is one of those ways to relieve stress.

 

All of that to say that this is a topic that, if they would have let me speak to first, we wouldn’t have gotten any further. (Laughter)

 

But I will bring up something, and it’s been talked about a little bit by my colleagues, about government departments working together on this. We’ve talked about it a bit with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. We’ve talked a little bit about it with the Department of Health and Wellness. I think of the CORAH program that is utilizing with NSCC and with the Departments of Seniors and Long-term Care, and Advanced Education. All of these departments are working together to keep people moving and to keep people active.

 

Movement is about more than just the physical component. It’s the mental side of it. It’s the social side of it. We talk about loneliness in the community and what COVID-19 did and how we kind of kept people in their houses, and when we realized getting out into the parks, and getting out and walking was such an important part of . . .

 

THE CHAIR: Order.

 

TREVOR BOUDREAU: . . . healing. (Laughter)

 

THE CHAIR: If MLA Palmer hadn’t been so long, you would have had more time. Talk to him.

 

I’d like to thank you all for coming. I’m going to start to my right. Who has closing comments? Just asking Ms. Shelton if she does. Ms. Aucoin?

 

Mr. Greenlaw.

 

BILL GREENLAW: Look, I just, again, would like to thank you all for all your wonderful questions and the thoughtfulness in the way that you pose the questions to all of us. I appreciate that.

 

I would also like to thank the people who supported you - the invisible part behind all of us. There’s a lot of work that goes into prepping for committees on all parties’ sides, and even on our side. I just can’t really thank those people enough, because without them, we wouldn’t look as good as we looked today. Hopefully you thought we did okay. Our binders are complete. You could have asked us anything on global warming to peace in the Middle East, and we would’ve had it covered, because our researchers do such a good job in our department. (Laughter) I just wanted to thank you all, and specifically give them a shout-out.

 

From the very beginning, the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation has been one of the best partners. I feel that we co-created this initiative. I’m very excited about it, and I would like to thank the original team for embracing this initiative when we went and said: Hey, there’s a gap in this space and we think that you might be able to help us here. They embraced this initiative so enthusiastically. Thank you for that.

 

THE CHAIR: Dr. Hawker, do you have any closing comments?

 

DR. LEISHA HAWKER: Just real brief, thank you for inviting the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation for this opportunity to talk about the fantastic work. As a board member and physician, they are a mighty team of three, and they really do amazing things behind us. Thanks to the ongoing support from the Province and the strong partnership with the Department of - I always get it wrong - CCTH. Hopefully we can keep working towards a healthy tomorrow for all Nova Scotians.

 

THE CHAIR: They write it down so I can say it out, because otherwise it’s CCTH to me also.

 

Do you have any closing comments, Ms. Copeland?

 

KERRY COPELAND: I wanted to thank you all for preparing so well today. I didn’t know what to expect, but clearly you all came having really researched the topic, and you have personal passions about it as well. I really appreciate the opportunity to share how we feel about movement today.

 

Just remember, we’re trying to create an opportunity where Nova Scotians seek out opportunities to move because they can, because they have the ability to do that. It’s a mindset shift we’re trying to create. We know we’ll feel good. The health benefits are wonderful, but we know we’ll feel good as well.

 

Thank you so much. If you’re okay with it, I’d love to give everyone an arm band. As I said, if you want to wear it or keep it on your desk to remind you to move or wear it when you’re actually walking, whatever use comes to you. We did bring one for everyone today.

 

[10:45 a.m.]

 

THE CHAIR: As this concludes the questioning, I’m going to take a five-minute recess just for the group to get out, for Ms. Copeland to hand the stuff out. Those guys, not you - you guys have to stay. We’re in recess.

 

[10:45 a.m. The committee recessed.]

 

[10:50 a.m. The committee reconvened.]

 

THE CHAIR: Order. This meeting is back to order, so we have a couple of items I’m going to deal with.

 

For our October 8th meeting, one witness is still unconfirmed. The topic is health data and approved witness are the deputy minister of the Department of Health and Wellness, the deputy minister of the Department of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions, the CEO of the Nova Scotia Health Authority, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, and the Nova Scotia Regulated Health Professions Network.

 

Right now, the Network is the only one unconfirmed. Versus us having to do a unanimous poll, I wanted it brought up here. I need to know: What is the committee’s view? If everybody else except the one from the Nova Scotia Regulated Health Professions Network is available, do we still want to have the meeting?

 

Like I said, I would prefer to not be sending out a unanimous since we have advance, so is everybody agreed that if we’re only at the four, we’re still worth meeting?

 

Agreed. Thank you very much.

 

Now I’ll go back to my correspondence. We have an email from Sam Perikala. It’s been circulated. Any questions regarding it?

 

MLA Regan.

 

HON. KELLY REGAN: Could I suggest that perhaps this be passed along to the Department of Health and Wellness? Maybe it would be of use to them, this particular email.

 

I read it briefly. I’m no expert in that particular area, but it does seem to me that this suggestion might be helpful. I’m not sure whether Sam is a man or a woman, so Mr. or Ms. Perikala.

 

THE CHAIR: I believe I’ve met him. All this stuff sounds familiar from a meeting.

 

KELLY REGAN: Okay, so perhaps this could be passed along to them for their use. It seems to me that it might be helpful to them.

 

THE CHAIR: Is it agreed that we’ll just forward this off to the department?

 

Agreed.

 

We have a second letter, August 16, 2024, from IPOANS, so I don’t have to spell it out. MLA Burrill.

 

GARY BURRILL: I’d like to make a couple of comments on this correspondence because what it has to say is so unfounded that it ought not to be allowed to stand unchallenged on the record.

 

Members will see that at the top of the letter’s second page, Mr. Russell accuses a witness at this committee’s August 13th meeting of providing what he calls a “biased, unfair and incomplete” account of the relationship between fixed-term leases and homelessness.

 

Mr. Russell here can only be speaking of Sheri Lecker, the executive director of Adsum for Women and Children, one of the most respected voices in Nova Scotia on this subject. What Ms. Lecker said, in fact, at the committee was that when we look at the explosion of homelessness since COVID-19, we have to acknowledge that a great many people are losing their housing due to fixed-term leases, which she spoke of as a pathway to homelessness. I’ll table her comments.

 

What Mr. Russell is so apoplectic about here is a view that is shared almost universally outside of those members of his association who have a financial interest in holding a different opinion. It’s a view which is rooted in the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia’s Sleeping Rough Survey, which showed that 22 per cent of homeless people identify as having lost their housing due to a fixed-term lease or renoviction.

 

Secondly, Chair, Mr. Russell contends that - and this is in his first page, in Paragraph 5 - criticisms of the landlord lobby by what he calls “some MLAs” - these are his words - have “given license to increased threats to those who work in our sector.”

 

Now, we may assume, I think reasonably here, that he is referring to our party. He is doing so in a way that, in my view, strains the credibility with which his opinions ought to be received.

 

Look, democratic forums like this committee, by their definition, are places of public disagreement. By their definition they are places for the airing of criticisms. By their definition they are places for the tabling of concerns. To treat this airing of concerns, or criticisms, in such an over-the-top way, as Mr. Russell does here, as of a piece with threats to one’s physical well-being indicates, I think, a striking lack of a sense of proportion, a striking lack of a sense of maturity and measure. Unfortunately, this is indicative of the approach which was expressed in this letter as a whole.

 

These are the comments I wanted to make, Chair, on this correspondence.

 

THE CHAIR: Any other discussion on this? Is there any other business? The next meeting will be Tuesday, October 8th. Note if the House is sitting, it will be at 9:00 a.m. If the House has risen, the meeting will be at 1:00 p.m. Protection of health . . . (interruption) It’s not in my agenda. Did I miss something? I did. Sorry. I’m still going to finish that. That’s when the next meeting will be. The topic is Protection of Health Data. We just discussed the witnesses in the previous discussion. I’m not going to repeat it.

 

Before we adjourn, also the Standing Committee on Health annual report has been circulated. I don’t believe anybody has submitted any errors or omissions to her. Is it okay for that to be signed and sent off? Everybody good?

 

I need a motion for that. MLA Palmer moves that I sign it and we submit it, yes?

 

All those in favour? Contrary minded? Thank you.

 

The motion is carried.

 

We are adjourned.

 

[The committee adjourned at 10:57 a.m.]