The following statement was issued today by Joan Burke, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Women's Health Network hosting workshop

I am pleased to recognize the Women�s Health Network, Newfoundland and Labrador is hosting a policy workshop today promoting the advancement of physical activities for girls in this province. The purpose of this workshop is to give girls a voice in policy development and have policy makers respond to their needs.

The workshop will bring female youth from the St. John�s region face-to-face with program developers in government. This will allow them the opportunity to discuss the physical activities that girls value and present policies they feel will have a positive impact on girls� well-being and health.

Physical education and recreation are two areas where we can�t assume programs and policies have the same effect on everyone. Gender equality does not mean treating women and men as if they are the same. Instead, it reflects a concern for understanding the differences in women�s and men�s lives and the possible need for different strategies to achieve equitable outcomes.

The Women�s Policy Office and the departments of Education, and Tourism, Culture and Recreation will each be giving presentations at this workshop. These presentations will demonstrate the importance of adopting physical education and recreational policies and programs which have been analyzed to determine the different impacts they might have on women and girls and to mitigate them where possible.

Health advocates are urging Canadians to be physically active to decrease their risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, osteoporosis, depression and other diseases. Yet physical activity among Canadians is low and has been declining among youth in the past decade. According to the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity, only 25 per cent of girls in Canada are physically active.

This issue is of particular importance in Newfoundland and Labrador where this province has among the highest rates of physical inactivity in the country.

Just because there�s no discrimination intended in policy development, it doesn�t mean results are equal. I am pleased to work with my honourable colleagues, John Ottenheimer and Paul Shelley in considering the impact of their decisions on all women in their curriculum and program development.

The workshop, entitled Our Time! Building Policy Capacity for the Advancement of Physical Activities for Girls in Newfoundland Labrador is taking place from 3:30 - 6 p.m. today in the Foran Room at St. John�s City Hall.

2004 03 24                                        2:50 p.m.