Canadian Forum Discusses Importance of Industry Participation
IHRSA International Convention, San Francisco, Canadian Forum Friday March 30
Aside from updating industry members on the Adult Fitness Tax Credit campaign and unfolding the new direction following the disappointing exclusion of the credit in the Federal Budget, during the Canadian Forum, Fitness Industry Council of Canada and panel members touched on the importance industry awareness and participation.
According to FIC, a few topics facility owners and operators should be aware of are:
Fitness Tax Credits
As was widely reported in the media, the 2007 Federal Budget included a little something for everyone, and was primarily geared toward working families. Although an extension of the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit to include adult fitness programs was not in this budget, according to Sussex Strategy Group Consultant Bernie Morton, there is clear indication the Government and the Conservative Party of Canada remain interested.
“In the days leading up to the budget there was some speculation, including by news agency CTV, that a family fitness tax credit was being contemplated,” says Morton. Lobby efforts by other sporting and fitness groups, such as the Sport Matters Group, also walked away empty handed.
“One might speculate that extending the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit to include adult fitness programs is so appealing the Harper Tories may want to keep it as an election platform promise given an election seems to be looming,” Morton continues.
Prior to the release of the budget, FIC commissioned survey specialists POLLARA to conduct a poll measuring Canadians’ interest in an Adult Fitness Tax Credit. More than three-in-five Canadians believe the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit should be extended to include all Canadians regardless of age.
POLLARA conducted the telephone interviews with 1,217 Canadians 18 years of age and older between February 26th and March 4th, 2007. Of all questioned, 61% favor extending the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit. Not surprisingly, of respondents aged 18 to 35, 78% of women and 67% of men support the idea.
Regardless of the budget outcome, FIC will continue its efforts with the federal government to educate and advocate for tax credits for adult fitness programs because a healthier society is a more prosperous society.
Consumer Protection Legislation
Consumer Protection Legislation. Legislation concerning our industry has and continues to be one of FIC’s most important topics of concern. Currently, Ontario and Quebec are the provinces in which legislation negatively affecting our industry has been passed. This legislation was introduced without consulting the industry and as a result seriously hampers the way business is done in those provinces. In Quebec, for example, contracts cannot be renewed after the initial year of service is up. Consumers are required to come into the facility and sign a new contract. Contracts may be cancelled any time up to one tenth of the contract length. So, if a contract is one year in length, the consumer has a 36 day cooling off period during which he or she may cancel without penalty. Paid in full options are not permitted – the seller may not collect payment in less than two equal installments.
It is FIC’ s worry negative legislation will spread. As witnessed in the proposed Consumer Protection Legislation Amendment in Saskatchewan last year, the government proposed the worst parts of legislation introduced in Quebec and Ontario without examining the ramification such legislation would have on our industry. If FIC had not served as the national voice of the industry at the Standing Committee hearings, it is likely legislation would have been passed thus negatively affecting how facility operators conduct business in Saskatchewan.
In the coming months, FIC plans to work with government to soften legislation in those provinces with harsh consumer protection laws. By working with government, FIC hopes will introduce a solution which benefits both business owner and consumer.
In July of last year, Dave Hardy met with Mr. Michael Jenkin, the Director General Co-chair of Consumer Affairs with Industry Canada. As outlined in the meeting, the Fitness Industry is, unfortunately, still among the top ten most complained about industries to Consumer and Corporate Affairs.
During the meeting, Mr. Jenkin reported the current top concern of Consumer and Corporate Affairs is the elevating occurrences of identity theft from places of business. ID theft is committed more often than not by “compromising electronic data systems;” anything from stolen computer hard drives to hacked databases to bribed employees willing to give up pertinent consumer information in favor of a few extra bucks can be motivation behind thieved IDs.
Identity Theft
In May of 2006, the Greater Providence YMCA was forced to issue a national public warning regarding the potential exposure of members’ information. Two laptops with over 65,000 individuals’ personal information were stolen from the facility’s administration office.
In an instance like this, loss of reputation or confidence may be the least of a club operator’s worry. The ramification of identity theft due to inadequate protection of consumer information comes with a hefty price tag: the Payment Card Industry (or PCI) is the global forum for security standards for account data protection and charges up to $500,000 per incident of stolen identity. If the club in question fails to inform credit card companies of a possible theft, the credit card company can also charge business operators up to an additional $100,000 per incident. We as an industry need to ensure we’re protecting our members’ information. By doing so, we will ensure our reputation and accountability stay untarnished. Visit FIC’s website for more information on how to protect yourself against identity theft.
AEDs
There is an international industry trend to implement AED’s – or Automatic External Defibrillators – in public places, including fitness facilities. While we are still in the process of researching provincial Good Samaritan Legislation, we do know many Canadian provinces now have legislation in place which says, regardless of title or language, any one person choosing to help a victim of cardiac arrest will not be held liable for injuries or death provided the injuries were not caused by gross negligence. The province of Ontario is taking a lead initiative with Bill 71, an act aimed at promoting the use of AEDs by protecting those who use it from any form of civil liability, which has now passed second reading in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The question is, however, how this legislation applies to facility owners and operators. While legislation is likely to be different from province to province, this is an issue our industry needs to be aware of.
As an industry association, we strongly acknowledge the benefits of AED’s in fitness facilities and encourage owners and operators to consider the advantages of installing an AED. While there is currently no legal standard of care requiring AED’s to be installed in all Canadian fitness facilities, there is a move within government – as exemplified by the legislation in Ontario – to make the installation of AED’s mandatory. In our continued effort to work with government, FIC urges all owners and operators to read and gain an understanding of provincial legislation as it currently affects fitness facilities and the installation of AED’s. We hope to have a condensed version of current provincial legislation available for download from the FIC website in the coming months.
Cell Phones
As the popularity of the cell phone as the one, necessary catch-all multi-media accessory increases, it becomes progressively more important for facility owners and operators to address the issue of using cell phones and – more importantly – camera phones while at the gym.
In the fast paced environment of today’s business world, asking a member to leave his or her cell phone at home while he or she hits the gym is nearly impossible. That said however, according to IHRSA, camera phones used on premises could hold facility owners liable if a member is surreptitiously photographed.
While no standardized legislation regarding the use of camera phones in public places has been introduced yet, international trends to ban camera phones from private or semi-private areas is becoming increasingly apparent.
Australia and India have banned the use of camera phones in gyms and spas, while South Korea legislates all camera phones must make beeping noises when photos are being snapped. Closer to home, twenty of the fifty states have laws addressing undisclosed videotaping, while Iowa, California and Maryland are crafting legislation which explicitly deals with the use of camera phones in public places.
It’s important we take care to protect the privacy and comfort of our members. If that is breached by someone wrongfully using a camera phone in our facilities, we have not only compromised trust between the facility and that member, but we have also damaged the relaxing atmosphere we try to provide our members.
While standardized legislation is still a distant reality on Canada’s political landscape, its important club owners and operators take the appropriate steps to address the use of camera phones before it becomes an issue, and so we as an industry may be included in legislative discussions to ensure our industry is not negatively affected.
Advocacy
Industry participation is perhaps to single most powerful way we can become involved in government decisions. FIC’s Provincial Councils are comprised of club owners and operators from each province. These committees focus strictly on dealing with legislation and building relationships with government officials at the provincial level so our industry may become an active part of legislative decisions. It is with the help of industry participants that we will ensure issues important to the fitness industry stay top of mind for government officials.
Email info@ficdn.ca to become an active part of the industry today.
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