Premier Wynne makes recreation funding announcement in Newmarket

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 20, 2015
By Chris Simon

Ontario invested in the Special Olympics this morning, though you'd be hard pressed to find a local journalist that could tell you more than what was contained in the press release.

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the province's plan to invest $7.2 million to promote active lifestyles through the Ontario Sport and Recreation Communities Fund, during a stop in Newmarket today. Local media was not invited to attend the event.

As part of this initiative, the province will provide more than $224,000 to Special Olympics Ontario for the Partners in Play program. This project will introduce young special needs athletes to sports such as track and field, basketball, soccer and swimming. Partners in Play will be delivered through 24 groups, engaging 1,300 participants in 39 communities across the province over two years.

The Ontario Sport and Recreation Communities Fund will support 123 provincial, regional and local projects in 2015-2016. It helps develop new sport and recreation programs and increases access to existing ones, educates people about the importance of physical activity and provides training in areas such as coaching and youth and volunteer development.