Vital Role of Physical Activity and Sport

Honourable senators, allow me first to thank Senators Deacon, McBean and Petitclerc, who initiated this inquiry into the vital role of physical activity and sport in our well-being and our communities’ well-being.

I would also like to acknowledge all the honourable senators who spoke before me. Your remarks have each, in their own way, highlighted just how multi-faceted a subject sport is, whether we approach it through lessons in resilience, the power of teamwork, or the management of emotions such as fear and doubt, or whether we view it as a gathering place or a rich field of experience and reflection.

Colleagues, hearing your stories allows us to discover a different side of you and what has shaped you, and to understand some of your deepest values.

Colleagues, I don’t have a high-level athletic career to boast about today, but sports have always been a part of my life. It is from this very personal perspective that I’d like to contribute to the discussion of sport and physical activity as a way of life rooted in stability, continuity and the daily act of movement that shapes both body and mind.

Unlike a vision that sometimes focuses on performance as the goal, mine is rooted in a holistic approach. For me, physical activity is part of the natural needs of human beings: moving, breathing, pushing oneself a little and, above all, carving out space for oneself.

Sport has never been a chore or something I had to achieve. Above all, it was a way to have fun. As a child, playing outside meant moving about, running, making things up and becoming out of breath without even realizing it. It was a natural way to be active intertwined with freedom and enjoyment. That connection to movement has never left me.

As a teenager, physical activity took on a new form when I decided to make it a regular part of my daily routine. During my four years at high school, in addition to walking to school, I would run five kilometres every morning at 7 a.m. The running circuit had been set up in the school hallways — yes, we were allowed to run in the hallways — which allowed us to run, rain or shine, before teachers and other students arrived.

Around the age of 16, I discovered downhill skiing. My friends and I would go to Camp Fortune, a ski resort in the Outaouais region. We would spend our weekends and all our school holidays skiing. The most memorable winters of my teen years were spent on ski hills. I still practise this sport today with enthusiasm and joy.

As an adult, movement became an essential common thread. Skating, running, swimming and road cycling are all activities that were never obligations but rather guideposts.

When I was pregnant, I swam five days a week. For over 20 years, I cycled to work on a road bike from April through to December. I took up running again when I became a CEO. Today, I try to walk almost every day. I walk three to five kilometres per day while listening to podcasts.

This lifestyle has shaped me. It has taught me perseverance and hard work. Performance is not an end but one step among many on a personal journey. It has also inspired me to pass this legacy on to my children.

In this regard, I would like to echo the insightful remarks of our colleague Senator Kutcher, who reminded us that it is up to us to take fundamental responsibility for our own health; no one can look after our bodies for us. I fully share this conviction. As a mother, this struck a deep chord with me, namely, how essential it is to pass on to our children not only the joy of movement but also the deep understanding that sport and physical activity are intrinsically linked to health and true well‑being — that they are not a burden but a true gift we give ourselves. That is how sport became part of our family lifestyle, and it remains an integral part of it today. Passing on this culture of movement has meant allowing each family member to pursue their own path in physical activity while sharing precious moments together as a family.

My kids ski, snowboard, skate, play hockey, run, bike and go for walks in the woods. It is at the heart of this family lifestyle that sport also reveals its full educational and formative potential. Behind every physical activity lies much more than simple movement. One learns about effort, at times defeat and often resilience, as well as concentration, perseverance and courage.

My wish has always been for my children to take these lessons to heart and use them as resources that will guide them throughout their lives. I see that this guiding principle has become a part of their lives and is now taking shape in the lives of my grandchildren.

Let’s not forget that it is through our connection with nature that these lessons relating to sports and physical activity take shape and grow.

I would like to mention that I have gone on trips with some of my children. So far, I have been to the Azores and I went hiking there. Every day, we walked 15 kilometres. We discovered the Azores in a different way. I am thinking of taking another trip to the Dolomites to once again go hiking in the mountains, and I am also looking to do the same thing around Mont Blanc so that I can visit Switzerland, Italy and France. If anyone here is interested in hiking, let me know and we can organize a trip to go hiking in the Alps for a week or 10 days. I am inviting you along if you are interested. You will have to pay your own way, but we can go together.

In Canada, we are extremely lucky to live in a country where the seasons encourage us to get out and move in whatever way we choose. We can go skiing and skating in winter, running as soon as the sidewalks are clear, cycling in the spring, swimming in our lakes in the summer and hiking when the leaves start changing colour. In its own way, this seasonal cycle shows us how diverse physical activity can be. It constantly gives us opportunities to get moving and rediscover our surroundings.

In closing, while I just extolled the benefits of physical activity throughout the seasons, I would still like to give a nod to shoulder season, which seems to drag on a bit too long every year. When winter refuses to let go, it’s the perfect time to put on your hiking boots and take advantage of the lengthening days to gradually get moving again.

I hope you rediscover the natural joy of being active outdoors in the mild spring weather, not out of a sense of duty or obligation, but simply for the joy and sense of well-being it brings.

Thank you for your attention.