The system:

a) Is essential to quality of life, and responds to our citizens’ rights to physical activity and play, and helps foster life-long participation in recreation and sport activities;

b) Is valued for its’ contribution to our quality of life and wellbeing, such as personal and family health, safe and inclusive communities, and the preservation and respect for our culture and heritage; and

c) Recognizes and supports the pursuit of excellence in all its forms.

The recreation and sport delivery systems are powerful tools for the achievement of a diverse range of public goals, including crime prevention, social inclusion, healthy living and a prosperous business environment. Stakeholders from these and other sectors ought to reach out to the organizations who operate these delivery systems and collaborate with them on the achievement of such goals.

Accessibility and inclusiveness require that:

a) All citizens have equitable, barrier-free access to a wide range of quality recreation and sport activities;

b) Careful attention is paid to barriers that are less visible, such as those related to income, disabilities, gender and sexual orientation;

c) Marginalized communities are engaged; and

d) Services are delivered in a manner that respects the spirit of provincial legislation concerning the two official languages.

Principles of long-term participant development inform all recreation and sport programming. The system is based on meeting the physical, mental, emotional and cognitive development needs of participants.

The recreation and sport delivery system involves many partners. The partners recognize that:

a) Leadership in the recreation and sport delivery system is shared, cooperative in spirit, responds to an ever changing environment, and is based on mutual trust and respect;

b) Individually and together, the partners provide only recreation and sport activities that are safe, healthy, and at a level consistent with the ability, interest and commitment of the participants;

c) Volunteers are valued, recognized and supported for their commitment to serve citizens through recreation and sport delivery programs; and

d) Demographic, geographic and cultural differences and regional disparities are recognized province wide. Partners within geographic regions acknowledge the benefits of cooperating, jointly planning and financially supporting programs and facilities for recreation and sport services.

Recreation and sport value and steward indoor and outdoor places and spaces in the built and natural environments. This requires balancing the needs of natural ecosystems with those of users, and providing sustainable facilities and services that minimize negative effects on the social and natural environments.

There should be a reasonable balance in the financing of recreation and sport by all tax-payers (through the three levels of government), non-governmental organizations, participating individuals and families, private sector and institutions, such that all citizens have equitable opportunities to participate regardless of one’s ability to pay.

All programs and initiatives:

a) Set Clear Goals: The goals of initiatives ought to be clear, relevant and achievable. Timelines ought to be realistic;

b) Define Roles and Responsibilities: Initiatives ought to include a clear statement of roles and responsibilities (see next section);

c) Co-operate and Collaborate: Initiatives ought to include clear boundaries that define the scope of the activities so that the partners can align their activities in ways that will maximize their ability to achieve the partnership goals;

d) Communicate and be Transparent and Open: Initiatives ought to ensure that relevant information is easily accessible to one another. At key milestones in a plan, the partners ought to openly review and discuss their progress toward their objectives and ways to improve the program;

e) Rely on Evidence-Informed Knowledge and Practices: The use and development of the recreation and sport delivery systems to promote other social goals ought to be guided by evidence and best practices;

f) Measure and evaluate effectively: Appropriate measures and indicators ought to be in place to assess the progress and results of initiatives; and

g) Treat Policy as Evergreen: Recreation and sport frameworks and policies, including this one, should be developed and subsequently updated on a regular basis by an agreed upon procedure involving the partners and stakeholders.