Mayor forms “Task Force” on physical activity

August 12, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

Want to take a stroll to Mars and back? You had better contact Town Hall.

Mayor Geoff Dawe has struck the “Mayor’s Task Force on Physical Activity” to help further Aurora’s goal to become the “Healthiest Community in Canada” in this, the Year of Sport.

“My goal is simple – we will be Canada’s most active community,” says Mayor Dawe in a memo before Council this week.

He describes the task force as a “cross-sectoral commitment” to do just that, implementing lifestyle changes that will have a “positive and lasting impact” on our community.”

Speaking to The Auroran earlier this week, he said one activity the task force would like to get off the ground was “a walk to Mars and back” whereby people across the community would register to log how many steps they take in one day, tallying everyone’s steps with the objective of covering the distance from Earth to the red planet and back.

Improvements – and possible additions – to Aurora’s existing infrastructure could also be part of what the task force looks at, he added, and various ideas have been kicked around on just what an additional facility might be. As demographics in Aurora change, so do the sports and activities that are particularly popular.

“We want to be a wide cross-section with people from the sporting community, people from culture, and people from business communities, because we will be looking for sponsorship,” says Mayor Dawe. “We are still in the throes of putting this all together. I am just hoping for a general buy-in” from Council.