Fact Sheet

Funding to Prevent Injuries in Outdoor Play Spaces

News Release: The Government of Canada Supports Safe Outdoor Play Spaces

Unintentional Injuries among Children and Youth in Canada

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 19. While the Government of Canada encourages Canada’s children and youth to become more active and live healthy lifestyles, it is also important to ensure their safety while being active. 

Through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Active and Safe initiative, the Government of Canada is investing $5 million over two years to support a number of community-based projects that empower Canadians to make safe choices while engaged in sport or recreation activities.  Today’s announcement for $200,000 will support a project to reduce unintentional injuries among children and youth by improving the safety of outdoor play spaces used by children and youth, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations.  

Play Spaces for Vulnerable Children and Youth in Canada

This project will be led by the University of British Columbia, in partnership with the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association, the Canadian Playground Safety Institute, and Safe Kids Canada.

Project activities include:

• assessing current knowledge about outdoor play spaces, including playgrounds, green spaces and urban areas such as parking lots, vacant lots and streets used by children and youth in order to determine areas for improvement; 
• engaging children and youth (aged six to 12 years) from rural and urban communities to gather information on after-school outdoor play spaces based on their experiences;
• developing an online tool, available on computers at local libraries, community centres, other community organizations and/or band offices, to train community members to be outdoor play spaces inspectors in communities with children and youth; and

• developing new information, tools and resources for parents, municipalities and policy makers, including safety tips and checklists.