Jolene De Vries (owner of Anytime Fitness Esterhazy, Yorkton, and Moosomin) was awarded the Fitness Industry Council of Canada’s (FIC) Canadian Fitness Industry Leadership Award for 2023.
De Vries was recognized in part due to her efforts to have fitness facilities declared as essential businesses during the pandemic, which played a pivotal role in helping the FIC reverse a proposed provincial tax on gyms in Saskatchewan.
In March 2022, the government of Saskatchewan announced they would impose a new provincial tax on events, casinos and gyms.
To counter this new proposed provincial tax, De Vries rallied those around her.
Jolene found much support from surrounding fitness centres and gym members during the initiative. Members wrote in giving testimonies about how the fitness centre assists them in their healthcare journey.
De Vries and her team engaged other fitness club owners, creating a postcard campaign for members to write to their elected officials, they presented their case in the Saskatchewan legislature, and pushed the message that gyms are essential to healthcare.
In August 2022, the government announced that gyms would no longer be part of the proposed tax.
She admitted, “So many gyms have closed and after all the struggles that we went through, it was nice to be recognized”.
In accepting her award, De Vries said fitness needs to be an essential part of the healthcare system. “It was hard to see people struggle in the pandemic so much. They were having problems with their diabetes again, anxiety was back up, pain from lack of movement came back. We are essential.”
De Vries spoke about the implications on her business after being classified in a group with recreational activities. “They lumped gym memberships in with entertainment. It was difficult as we just had our last restriction lifted that June. Then they hit us with wanting to add a PST when our industry had been decimated over the last couple of years. It just did not make sense.”
The Anytime Fitness owner mentioned the FIC is trying to get the governments to recognize gyms as part of the health care system in the provinces and federally as well. “To recognize that we’re not entertainment, that we can help them reduce the cost in healthcare.”