A recent survey indicates engaging in sport and physical activity can be good for taxpayers’ wallets and the country’s economy.

 

The Fitness Industry Council of Canada’s report shows the total value of health savings generated by sport and physical activity in 2019 was 23-point-four billion dollars, including six billion in direct health care savings.

It adds over two-point-two million cases of health conditions were prevented in 2019, which includes over 600 thousand cases each for coronary heart disease, type-two diabetes, and depression.

 

When asked what the organization plans to do with this data, President Sara Hodson had this to say.

 

“We are already working with the federal government and minister of finance around what is the economic recovery for the fitness industry but more so for Canadian people. What we are actually very clearly looking at is what it would look like to have a medical tax exemption, which is already line 33099 on our personal taxes, and to have our fitness memberships and services included in that. It’s already a line item, it is just listed as non eligible. We want to see that turned around because now we know the data of how impactful fitness truly is to our health care.”

 

For more details on the report, catch Thompson Today at 12:40 and 5:10 this afternoon.