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Canada has set the Guinness World Record for the most number of people walking a kilometre at the same time. "North Battleford had the fourth largest group of walkers - 1,350"   On Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at precisely 12:30 pm EDT, 231,635 Canadians walked  1 kilometre at 1,011 different venues. Canada has smashed the existing record of  100,915 set in 2006 by Western Australia.     Green Communities Canada, which organized the event, has received the official certificate of verification from Guinness World Records in London, England.     “By establishing a new Guinness World Record for walking, Canada is setting an international example of getting people active,” said Ontario Minister of Health Promotion Margarett Best. “Events like these help to bring us closer to meeting our objective of increased physical activity and better health across the province.”   “The World Record Walk surpassed our highest expectations,” says Jacky Kennedy, Director of Walking Programs for Green Communities Canada. “The enthusiasm, community spirit and richness of community events were simply amazing.”     School children were particularly excited to be part of a world record attempt that included the whole country. Municipal leaders and health officials launched physical activity strategies, signed the International Charter for Walking, opened trails, showcased walking infrastructure and led walks everywhere. Remote rural communities, large cities, and First Nations where involved. Across the country at precisely the same time it was foggy, sunny, overcast, rainy, hot, warm, cool, and frosty.      Ontario led the way with 160,048 participants. In Ontario, the event was supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion’s Communities in Action Fund. In addition, Alberta had 30,945 participants, Manitoba had 28,715 participants, and events were also held in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Yukon.  Schools, workplaces, trail organizations, and communities all joined in the spirit of the event. Hospitals, community colleges, universities, seniors’ centres, and even prisons staged events.      The World Record Walk created a real “buzz” on all matters related to walking and provided an impressive launch to the Walkolution – a movement spearheaded by Green Communities Canada to create a culture of walking throughout the country. This cultural shift will entail putting pedestrians first, as the most important element of future transportation planning to improve safety, reduce traffic congestion, improve community cohesion, cut air pollution, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With more walkable communities, efforts to encourage Canadians to walk to school, work, and play when it is only a short distance away, will be more successful. Getting Canadians to walk more, every day is the most effective way to increase daily physical activity and combat obesity.     A full listing of World Record Walk events is online, sorted by Province at: http://worldrecordwalk.ca/english/default.asp.   Green Communities Canada is a national association of non-profit organizations that deliver innovative, practical environmental solutions to Canadian households and communities. See www.greencommunitiescanada.org. 4/6/2008