Back of the Pack

I'm a fat chick who just got an extremely clean bill of health from her doctor. Not only that but I live on the 3rd floor of a walk-up and every day I climb those stairs with a full size stroller in one hand, my 2yr-old in the other and my work bag strapped to my back! Although I currently work out at home, I would much rather to go to the gym but the cost is WAY too high for a single parent with 2 kids. A tax break would go along way to helping out with the cost. In fact, I'll be taking advantage of the tax-break for the children. My daughter's Tae Kwon Do & Jazz classes cost a small fortune (but she's worth it!) and that tax-break will be a huge help!

As usual, the nay-sayers among the respondents are very good at pointing out what they consider the deficiencies in the idea of tax incentives for fitness, but do very little if anything to suggest an alternative. We are becoming a nation of lazy, inactive thumb-on-the-remote people, and if we can get any kind of kick I the butt to get out of that dangerous rut then I say “great”. We need only look south of the 49th to see the results of doing nothing about this problem. The argument about the greedy gym owner lining his pockets is ludicrous. Most municipalities in this country have wonderful community centres and fitness facilities. Support them. Put your money back into your community facilities and enjoy the tax break if and when it comes. There is only so much we can do to get people to subscribe to a healthy lifestyle, but if a financial incentive is what is necessary then I’m all for it. If even a small percentage of the population can use this as a motivator it will pay for itself in health savings.

I think it's a fantastic idea. I spend a huge amount of money every year on tuition for my son's Tae Kwon Do. There are sometimes when money is tight that I wonder if it's really a priority.

Then I pick him up after class and he's soaked to the skin with sweat and feeling fantastic. When he first enrolled several years ago, I watched his marks in school skyrocket, his confidence increase exponentially, his social skills sharpen, and this was all in addition to the amazing changes in his fitness level.

I sincerely wish that it wasn't so costly financially, but the money matters a whole lot less when you consider all of the other factors.

Any break, no matter how small, would be sincerely appreciated. In addition, I think that the government would financially benefit itself in that I know my son won't be a burden on the health-care system, the education system, or the justice system. Fitness goes beyond the physical.

And since he's on track to be a third-degree black belt before he turns 15, there might even be some Olympic pride to boot!

A tax break is a good incentive and a great opportunity to get the whole family together.

Family memberships can be quite expensive; running anywhere from $300-$500+.

A weekly family event such as going to a recreational facility together not only promotes a healthy life style for everyone but fosters the family bond... this time can be used as a positive event for the whole family to share and catch up on what’s happening in each others lives while enjoying a healthy activity together.

And don't forget to invite Grandma and Grandpa.

I'm all for incentives that encourage better health. But this also concerns me as, yet another thin edge of the wedge of privatised philosophies. By encouraging us to spend our own money on sports and fitness (particularly those fly by night gyms), there is less federal money going to schools and public facilities. Given all the pool closings this summer, it's clear that these facilities are not receiving proper funding.

And what kind of tax incentive are we talking about anyway? Is this like Harper's "childcare" plan? Once again, those who can afford it, will enjoy the highest level of service while those relying on a "tax cut" will be dealing with dodgy unregulated, private enterprise.

My health - and yours - is important. And that's why I don't support Harpo's privatize and throw 'em a bone schemes.

Here's a case where offering a tax incentive directly to the individual might not be the best way to achieve the desired result of improved health and fitness.
A better approach would be to provide improved funding for facilities and qualified staff at community recreation centres, school gyms, and organized sports leagues.
Funding amounts could be linked to a given facility's demonstrated success at getting people participating in (and not just signing up for) healthy activities.

It seems like an intresting idea, but having a cheaper gym membership won't motivate people to actually go to the gym and exercise. I had a membership when I was overweight and unhealthy - I didn't use it, as I wasn't motivated and prepared to be healthier.
Years later, I have changed my lifestyle to a healthy one and I exercise and eat well. I am now a healthy weight and physically fit AND I don't have a gym membership. I've worked out a fitness regime I can do at home and purchased my own fitness equipment, which was cheaper than a membership in the long run and something I could actually keep up with at home.
If anything, I think having healthy food at lower prices (perhaps no tax/lower price)and teaching people how to cook and eat healthier would encourage people to eat better and be more active. I also feel that community groups/associations that have walking and other low priced fitness classes might be a better way to focus the tax breaks. It would build a closer knit community of healthier people, who are encouraging each other to live better.

Yes there should be some type of break to have fitness centres in many communities are
not to expensive.

A tax break for joining a gym is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard.
A tax break of this kind will only line the pockets of gym owners who will be all to happy to sign you up, in exchange for a tax receipt, with little care for you attendance or health for that matter. If fact, they will try to sell you personal training sessions as a motivator.

I do not belong to a gym. I do swim once a week at the community pool, I go to a Yoga class once a week, I power walk (30 min) 3 times a week and do weight baring exercises 2x a week in my living room. I do not have a gym membership and do not need one to be motivated to stay healthy.

If you really care about your health, make the time to get off the couch and start eating sensibly. Motivation comes from within not from a tax break.

We should go further. The costs are so huge in every way that public money spent now is only a fraction of what will be spent in the future on diabeties and obesity remedies. If the problem is unchecked the costs can only increase

Althought this sounds like a good solution to a overweight public, there are down sides to everything. I beleive that for most people money is what drives them not health. Coming from Halifax known as " the most unhealthy places in Canada with the highest populations of overweight ppl and obesity" I have noticed that ppl are not willing to work for there health. I am a 22 year old female with a young child both I and my husband work full time and do not have gym memberships, but still we are both in good health and thin. I would like to teach my daughter a good health regime knowing that this is what my parents did for me and this worked. The money that would in terms be sent back to the public as a tax exemption should be sent to health care or education. Unhealthy ppl will not be more motivated to work out but will be motivated to get free health care once they get ill from ther own actions. What I am trying to say is that there is hope for the future (our children) and you can't teach a dog new tricks ( the presently overweight ppl). IT does not take money to lose weight and get healthy it takes will power take it from a mom that has a child and lost more then the baby weight . I did not have a gym pass only my will power.

Definitely a very wise idea! Think of the benefits of simple walking. If people could realize a tax break by joining a gym and walking on the treadmill, don't you think we'd see a drop in the rate of breast-cancer? Isn't that a benefit all around for everyone, including the government? Not to mention, setting a great example for children to follow. Why is it that our kids are becoming more obese? Is it lack of exercise? Yes!