If I understand things correctly, you have to be a member of some kind of athletic/recreational club to qualify for this credit. If that's the case it's a rather discriminatory plan. Joining a fitness club/athletic may not be a problem for urban dwellers, but here in Drumheller there aren't many options for a fat 40-year-old. There's a few, like curling, but they only have a limited number of people they can accommodate. Same with the one gym in town. The smaller the centre, the fewer the options and openings, so this would be a rather discriminatory plan for rural Albertans. I don't complain about fewer options being available in rural centres in general ... there are fewer people and fewer tax dollars to support recreational facilities, so I understand that I'm not going to have as much at my disposal compared to larger centres. But something like a tax credit should be equal opportunity for ALL tax payers. Setting up a tax credit that all Albertans don't have equal access to is unfair and discriminatory. Of course the government could just take my word that I go out mountain biking for at least a half hour a day, but I somehow doubt they would be willing to do that.
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