Vital Role of Physical Activity and Sport
Inquiry--Debate Adjourned
February 10, 2026
Honourable senators, it is a privilege to rise today to speak briefly about the importance of physical and mental health for us, our loved ones, our friends and all Canadians.
I will focus on the relationship between physical and mental health as well as those things that impact both.
First, we need to understand that mental health is dependent upon brain health, and brain health and rest-of-body health cannot be separated. Just as there is no health without mental health, there is no mental health without health. Simply put, what is good for the bicep is good for the brain.
From here on, I will use the word “health” to mean a healthy brain —
Honourable senators, it is now past seven o’clock. Pursuant to rule 3-3(1), I am obliged to leave the chair until eight o’clock, when we will resume, unless it is your wish, honourable senators, to not see the clock.
Is it agreed to not see the clock?
Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.
Some Hon. Senators: No.
The Hon. the Speaker: I hear a “no.”
Honourable senators, leave was not granted. The sitting is, therefore, suspended, and I will leave the chair until eight o’clock.
(The sitting of the Senate was suspended.)
Thanks to everybody who came back to hear me speak, and my mother thanks you.
I’ll start where I left off: Simply put, what is good for the bicep is good for the brain. From here on, I will use the word “health” to mean a healthy brain in a healthy body or, for the Latin scholars among us, mens sana in corpore sano.
This phrase was coined by the Roman poet Juvenal, noting the connection between physical fitness and mental health, identifying that what is good for the one is also good for the other. Since Juvenal lived about 2000 years ago, I’m not telling you anything new.
Second, we also need to understand that attaining good health is both an individual responsibility and a whole-of-society responsibility. That means it’s the things we as individuals can do to help optimize our health, but it’s also the things that communities can do to optimize our health, like turning our phones off. The latter are called the social determinants of health and include, but are not limited to, such things as eradicating poverty and social inequality, ensuring rapid access to needed health care and providing safe environments in which children can develop.
We in this chamber are in a unique situation. We are simultaneously responsible for our own health and, at the same time, we have some responsibilities to Canadians for their health. We do that by ensuring the social determinants of health can be available to all.
I will spend the next few minutes focusing on our responsibilities for our health. What can we do to improve our health? This was the question I faced when creating the first global mental health literacy curriculum for young people about 20 years ago.
What I created then rings true today, except there is more scientific data. I originally called them “five to thrive plus one.” The reason for that is because “six” doesn’t rhyme with “thrive.” I have now refined the list; it’s called “five to thrive plus four.” This demonstrates the beauty of science. As our knowledge improves, we have to improve our messaging. I have no skill in advertising because nobody would use the phrase “five to thrive plus four” as a trendy attention grabber.
I asked Senator Deacon if I should go into the research studies supporting each of these items, and she said, “No. Then I asked her if I should discuss the physiology and chemistry of the brain‑body interaction, focusing on the impact each item has on the neurobiology of synaptic membrane development, improvement of neuroplasticity and neuroamine transmission efficacy, brain‑derived neurotrophic factor production, endorphin release and grey and white matter synaptogenesis — and she said, “No.”
If you are interested in these things, please see me later, and I would be happy to share with you as many dense research papers as I can.
I’m only going to talk about a couple of the things on the list: exercise; proper nutrition; good sleep; solid and continuous personal relationships; helping others; limiting the use of brain‑altering substances such as drugs and alcohol, as some drugs are a “never use”; protecting your brain by wearing a seat belt and helmet; getting off that phone and spending more time face to face with people; and don’t be fooled by the products or services the wellness industry is selling.
Each of these things is our personal responsibility. Nobody can do them for us. Avoid the wellness industry and its products that promise you effortless health, happiness and heaven on earth. Do the hard work needed.
I have frequently heard Senators McBean and Petitclerc say, “No pain, no gain.” And they would know.
First, I’m going to talk about exercise. It’s probably the one most important thing we can do to improve our health; it’s a cognitive enhancer. That means it improves the activity of the frontal cortex.
The frontal cortex is where problem solving, abstract thought, logical thinking and moral and ethical reasoning reside. It is the last part of our brain to mature.
Usually, but not for everyone, this maturation is mostly complete around age 30 years old. The cerebral cortex is also the part of the brain that controls the limbic system, which is the part that responds emotionally to existential challenges.
It causes us to slow down, think and modulate our emotional responses. In language that this chamber can resonate with, the cerebral cortex is the place where sober second thought resides.
Exercise has a profound positive impact on all parts of our bodies. It is a metabolic regulator. It improves cardiovascular function. It strengthens muscles, bones and our cerebellum’s ability to coordinate our movements.
Colleagues, there is even some evidence that exercise can improve sexual functioning and arousal, but over-exercise can decrease libido. You need to be able to hit the right spot.
Colleagues, if there is one thing we can do to improve our health now and help us prevent or slow down mental and physical deterioration, it’s exercise. Simply put, some is good but more is better — I’m talking about the exercise. There are two pieces of disinformation I’ve heard in this chamber, which I need to address.
First, there is a myth going around that lifting a glass of good wine to our lips is a form of exercise, but sadly it’s not. Senator Varone, who has the palate of an expert sommelier, will no doubt be unhappy about that news.
Second, there is a story percolating that chewing sugarless gum for 30 minutes per day is good exercise because you burn more calories than you take in. I am assured that Senator Osler can help set us straight on that one.
Moving from disinformation to evidence, while all movement is good, we need to have at least 15 consecutive minutes of rapid walking daily to meet the minimum exercise quota. Those of you who want to see how this is done, please go to the downstairs lobby of our building every Tuesday to Thursday during the late morning to see Senator Ravalia pacing out his 10,000 daily steps.
But that is not all that we need to do. We need to raise our heart rate to 80% of maximum output, sustained over 30 minutes at least three times per week. This is called aerobic exercise. It takes commitment and endurance.
Senator Yussuff does this by running outdoors almost daily, rain or shine, wind or snow. That blur you see scooting down Wellington Street is Senator Yussuff.
On a related but slightly different point, I have been hearing from some people that curling and ice hockey are good ways to get into shape. Our previous colleague Senator Cotter was a big proponent of the curling hypothesis, and he managed to keep a straight face while doing so.
When it comes to ice hockey, we can turn to our resident expert Senator Housakos, who I am sure will agree ice hockey is a highly anaerobic exercise. We don’t play ice hockey to get into shape; we get into shape to play ice hockey.
Personally, I have stopped playing ice hockey due to having taken a cross-check to my chest that broke a few ribs during a non-contact, friendly game.
And that is not all. Getting healthy is hard work. Here we go. We need to do weight-bearing exercises at least three times per week. This often means going to the gym or some place where we can lift or move heavy stuff. My good friend Senator Boehm does. He goes to two different locations every week. He lifts weights in the gym and moves furniture at home.
With all these activities, if you exercise with others, you get additional health benefits from the social interaction. I do my best to get to the gym daily whenever I am here in Ottawa. I used to banter with Senator Smith every morning at six o’clock in the gym of the Château Laurier. We became gym buddies; it was great. Sometimes, to our delight, we were joined by Senator Loffreda. He was the only one in the gym wearing a three-piece suit.
Additionally, if we can combine exercise-related activities with learning a new skill, that type of exercise increases our ability to slow down our inevitable physical and cognitive decline. It doesn’t stop it, but it slows the rate.
So taking up something such as dancing — if you do this with a partner and with other people, you get the additional benefit of building social relationships. I know that there are many fine dancers in our chamber, and while I would like to publicly acknowledge each and every one of you, I won’t in case I leave someone out.
So there you have it. One of the most important things that we can do to promote our health is exercise. But it is hard work, and it needs to be done regularly. We are all busy people, and we live by daily schedules. So in order to get the health benefits of exercise, we have to put it into our daily schedules; otherwise, we won’t get around to doing it.
Speaking of which, according to the website called The Knot, even scheduling sex is recommended by marriage therapists and sex therapists. As they say, “We promise: It really is more fun than it sounds.” And they did some sort of survey to demonstrate this.
Finally, on the exercise theme, in this audience, I need to address pickleball. According to the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic, there is some evidence that it helps cardiovascular fitness, improves balance, and the social aspect helps mental health. Every retired person whom I know plays it, and they are impressed by it, so there we go.
I recently tried it. Hitting a superb slice shot across the net is called a “dink in the kitchen.” Really? A sport that has a dink in the kitchen? I don’t know. Anyhow, I’m going on to the wellness industry.
The wellness industry is a massive, multi-trillion-dollar global market that is growing faster than global GDP, promising easy solutions to problems that you didn’t know you had. It uses “science-y” language to promote pseudo-science and lure people into buying things that they don’t need. Have you heard of “wellness water” or “quantum healing”? What about “wellness dog food” —
Senator Kutcher, I have to interrupt. The time allowed has expired. Are you asking for more time to finish your speech?
Less than one minute.
Is leave granted, honourable senators?
Leave is granted.
Thank you.
Have you heard of “wellness water” or “quantum healing”? True. What about “wellness dog food” — look it up — or “quantum detoxes”? If you just put the word “wellness” in front of what you are selling, or a scientific term that almost nobody understands, such as “quantum,” people will buy it. And you can even add the two words together, such as in this sales pitch: “Purchase Kathy Freston’s Quantum Wellness Cleanse.” It’s a thing. It was on “Oprah.”
So, colleagues, as my time has expired, I will not be able to discuss the other things on the list. Thank you for taking the time to listen, and thank you to Senator Deacon for initiating this inquiry.
Oh, and by the way, laughter is good medicine.
Honourable senators, it will come as no surprise that I value building interconnected and healthy communities that are inclusive and safe for all. I believe we all have a narrative, a past that influences our actions every day. Today, I will share a little bit about my early years that might assist in better understanding the value I place on sport and activity.
My early life was unpredictable, unstable and quite fearful. I grew up accepting responsibilities very young. Three weeks before Christmas in Grade 5, the house we rented caught fire and we could not return. We lived in a hotel for a while, which I actually thought was fun for a bit. We changed schools, moved to a new community and carried on.
I quickly realized in Grade 5 that I needed to do something for myself — something to help me feel better about myself, something to connect with others, something to help create my own experience. With very limited funds, I bought a badminton racquet and started playing at a local club. I loved all of my time on the courts. Some other parents helped me with some early technical coaching. The local tennis pro thought badminton was just the same as tennis, and he became our instructor. Meeting new people, working hard on court and managing my time was very important to me. It was me and eight very talented boys. I watched, listened and learned, just happy to be on the court.
On my first day of high school, when most people are excited about school, I could not wait until the end of the day. That was the day a “real” coach, someone who had coached national-level athletes, was going to start with us.
When our new coach John Gilbert arrived at our club, we were all nervous. He was quiet and he got us right to work. There was a lot of hard work, drills and training. Our Christmas training camps were my favourite — on the courts at 8 a.m. on Boxing Day right through to New Year’s Day. Days of working hard. John, our coach, was critical for me at that moment in time. He may never know just how critical. For the next five years, we trained and competed. I babysat to make sure I could pay for my travel and my equipment.
I know John did not bill me fees he knew I could not pay. And, to this day, I also know it was badminton that saved my life and put me on a better path. I knew one day I wanted to make this possible for many other people.
One highlight was competing in my first nationals, here in Ottawa, sleeping at the train station for free — yes, this train station — and a youth hostel, the former jail down the street, which I thought was fantastic.
Another memory was the day before the Montreal Olympics opened. Badminton was not an Olympic sport yet, but I had been selected to attend what was called a “junior Olympic badminton camp” in Sudbury, Ontario. This was a huge deal for me. That day, in my day job, we were introducing campers to horseback riding. Some of the campers were frightened, as the horses seemed agitated, and a few of them reared up. I took a young girl off her horse and mounted the horse to return it back to the barracks. The horse reared up and bucked me off, resulting in my leg being broken in four places. I can still remember saying to the doctor, “Can I still go to training camp today?” Suffice it to say, no. Sixteen weeks of recovery followed.
I share this because part of this recovery exposed me to 14 hours a day of Olympic coverage in 1976. I watched and tucked more statistics into my head than I thought possible. But looking back, what those weeks really did for me was build a desire to give back, to get badminton on the Olympic program. It was really important to me.
In 1978, a few years later, friends paid for a flight to get me to volunteer at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and I was hooked.
I returned to playing for five more years, but also started coaching. At Western University, in grad school, I was invited to a pilot coaching module. I learned later that I was the first female to become nationally certified to work with national team athletes. I continued to coach athletes at a local club while teaching and becoming a mom. I loved coaching my first Canada Games in P.E.I. I was then tapped by our national organization to be an apprentice coach at the Commonwealth Games in 1994, a true highlight of my life. I will never forget those games and the return of South Africa to the Commonwealth post-apartheid. We embraced the whole South African team as we prepared for the opening ceremonies.
I was also exposed early to the complexity of the games, all of the functioning units, the security aspects and the team behind the team. It was at those games as well that I started a project called “Canada Gives Back,” a donation project involving sharing gently used equipment with countries that are not as fortunate.
I have since tried to leverage sport at every opportunity I can, from playground to podium and back. Sport, I have learned, is about so much more than a game. My lens of experience for the first decade was in the role of coach and team leader. Over the next two decades, I evolved, supporting all of Team Canada at games, being a member of the Team Mission, leading Team Canada as head of mission in Delhi and shaping policy that best helped and supported Team Canada. I have had the opportunity to contribute to and attend 19 international multi-sport games. My desire to make conditions best for our athletes and coaches has never waned.
So what has sport taught me? Why am I telling you all of this?
At all levels, athletes and coaches are incredible. Watching athletes and coaches at their first Olympics is a thrill. They are so excited that they cannot sit or stand still. It’s their first athletes’ village, first bag full of clothing for Team Canada and first photo taken in front of the real Olympic rings. Then, the gravity of the culmination of years of training hits like a freight train. Our job as coaches is not to kill the excitement, but to keep them grounded so they are not swallowed by these moments.
Sport also brings families, communities and nations together. It is a builder. At my first Olympics, on day two of competition, I stepped outside the gym to regroup. I stopped to look at an outdoor Jumbotron screen, and there, in front of my eyes, Simon Whitfield finished his run to win gold in the triathlon in Australia. It was an awesome moment, jumping and screaming with about 500 other people all wearing different colours and jerseys from around the world. It did not matter where we were from. This togetherness might be seen as random, but it was not that different from FanFest at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto this past weekend, where strangers came together and wanted to be together to share these moments.
Like with any complex event, many people work behind the scenes to create the best conditions for success. This can be a grind. Most games I have been to have had me away from my home for three to five weeks. But it is all worth it when you see the athletes and coaches march in the opening ceremonies — the flags, the smiles, the pride and the rawness of it all.
Each event brings something unique. They bring no promise, no guarantee, but these athletes are striving to be the best in the world at the right moment. We have seen already Canadian athletes who did not make it to the starting line in Milano Cortina. This is also a reality.
Families and friends are critical to athletes’ performance, but their needs are different. As a coach, we have to know the exact mix that works best. The pandemic and empty stands in Tokyo and Beijing were very rough. When they are interviewed, athletes in Milano Cortina who were in Beijing repeat, over and over, how great it is to have their families spectating at these games.
As coaches and team leaders, we usually have training down to the minute. However, we have to watch and listen closely to the noise that can impact their best performance. Protecting energy, sticking to your process, having one person to respond to, staying true to your values and sticking with the familiar is how you show up ready, like in the Senate.
And then there is failure. I think what we consider with athletes is so applicable to our everyday lives. If an athlete never fails, they may be either playing it pretty safe or not training hard enough. Failure is not a weakness but a process. Failure is feedback. The goal is to fail in practice, learn what happened, fix it and show up better the next day. As coaches, we don’t treat it as a crisis but an opportunity.
Sport is also inclusion. In 2004, in Athens, I ended up at a Starbucks with seven badminton athletes from four countries. Each identified as LGBTQ. This led to some incredibly open dialogue on the challenges they faced at games and at home. I will never forget this conversation, as it guided my work and the need to do it better. I also assisted my athletes when they came out to their families. This led to a report I presented to our international federation and our Olympic committee. The bottom line is that if athletes do not feel safe, included and valued, they simply cannot perform at their best.
By the way, Senator Petitclerc, this group of seven joined me to watch you that day and were also the ones who went to watch you win gold in the 800-metre wheelchair exhibition race in Athens.
Sport is also education and community. You may not know that in 2010, the Youth Olympic Games were born. I have attended both the winter and summer Youth Olympic Games and sat in an adviser role. What is amazing about these games is that the athletes compete at their best for a week and then participate in an education program. Imagine athletes under the age of 18 participating in activities that help them learn about Olympic values and cultures from around the world. Some meet, then compete against each other at the Olympics. The energy is amazing, and the next Youth Olympic Games will be held this summer in Dakar, Senegal, the first to be organized in Africa.
For young girls in particular, sport plays an integral role. My experience tells me that if we lose girls before around the Christmas of Grade 4, it is very hard to get them back. I have led school curriculum projects that redesigned our curriculum from a fitness model rather than a sport model, which encourages participation for all girls through to Grade 12. We ran junior varsity programs where any girl could play on a basketball or volleyball team, with no cuts. On my basketball and volleyball teams, we had 60 to 70 girls who were thrilled to put a school jersey on, whether it was new or 20 years old, and spend time on the court.
Internationally, I have immensely enjoyed mentoring women in Africa and South America. Supporting girls and women in sport represents a tremendous opportunity in Canada. When girls play and lead in sport, their full potential is unlocked, expanding their contributions to our communities and our country.
At this moment, momentum is strong for girls and women in sport. Sustained government attention and support, committed organizational leadership and investment have partially led to this. The rapid expansion of professional women’s sport in Canada is a game-changing development. We now have a full calendar year of women’s sport on our screens. The resulting growth in visibility, value and respect for women’s sport will have a positive effect on the entire women’s ecosystem, especially with respect to grassroots opportunities.
As a woman in a sphere of leadership that was male dominated, I have faced directly many forms of harassment in many arenas. I have been in international meetings as the only female. I am dedicated to ensuring it is better for the next generation.
Of course, colleagues, sport costs money. In a school where families could not afford to outfit their children in hockey equipment, the school custodian and I collected some, negotiated ice time and found volunteers and a bus to take students to a local rink at 7 a.m. I will never forget the faces of these students and their parents as they put on equipment and stepped onto the ice for the first time. Grassroots sports must be attainable for all youth.
The recent Jumpstart report, State of Youth Sport in Canada, is an important read, highlighting the cost of sport and the significant barriers that exist. Investing in sport and physical activity is not exclusively about health and well-being. We know sport has the capacity to transform lives, foster community and drive positive social change.
Sport is also good business. From the $7.6-billion GDP impact on amateur sports to the $2-billion projected boost from the FIFA World Cup, sport is a massive economic driver and a significant nation-building tool. Ultimately, we will need to work together to realize the full power of sport.
Colleagues, from playground to podium and back, I dream that the cost of sports can be more affordable for more Canadians, that schools and recreational facilities can be accessible seven days a week, that all schools can offer quality daily physical activity and that our sports system finds efficiencies, from municipalities to provinces and territories and national sports organizations, while funding across ministries is addressed. This will require a transformation of present structures. I hope all Canadians benefit from the power and possibility of sport.
Finally, and importantly, I hope that all of society can live and act by the Olympic manifesto that originated in 2018 and is again posted in Canadian spaces at these games. That manifesto reads:
Within these walls, you are welcome, accepted and respected, no matter who you are or where you come from.
You are Team Canada, regardless of sexual orientation, race, family status, gender identity or expression, sex characteristics, creed, age, colour, ability, disability, language, political or religious belief, or culture.
Senator, I wish to mention that time your time has expired. Are you asking for more time?
Yes.
Is leave granted, honourable senators?
Thank you. To finish that quote:
Here, you are safe to chase your dreams. All we ask is that you be respectful and kind, and treat others with fairness and dignity. Strive to be the best teammate possible.
Together we are one community, one country, one team.
Thank you. Meegwetch.
