Municipal engagement survey -- Youth Services Plan 2026-2029

Project overview

Every three years, Parks & Recreation (P&R) develops a Youth Services Plan to identify issues relevant to youth aged 13-24 and to respond to the changing needs, values and priorities of youth across the municipality. A new plan is currently being developed for 2026–2029.

The Youth Services Plan Team – made up of 20 youth residents across the Halifax region – is supporting the plan’s development and related engagement to ensure the process is youth-led. This team has played a key role in developing the online survey questions.

Youth service refers to any recreation services the municipality offers that youth access (e.g., registered programs, drop-in programs, youth action teams, youth groups and events, etc.)
- Prizes include:
  - Nintendo Switch
  - Apple Watch
  - Apple AirPods

Engagement opportunities

The municipality is inviting young people (ages 13-24) to participate in an online survey to help guide future youth-focused programs and services, particularly in recreation.

Complete this survey to be entered into a prize draw to complete the survey. To enter, participants must provide their name and phone number. The prize draw is on May 8, 2026.

Fun in-person feedback sessions will also be held in different recreation spaces. Visit halifax.ca/ysp for more information.

What can be influenced at this time:

Survey results will inform the municipality’s Youth Services Plan (2026–2029), highlighting areas for improvement and opportunities to enhance recreation services for youth across the municipality.

Next steps:

After public engagement closes, feedback will be analyzed for trends and considerations and a What We Heard Report will be drafted by the P&R’s Youth Section.

P&R staff, along with the Youth Services Plan Team, will use youth feedback to begin developing the Youth Services Plan (2026-2029).

Have questions?
Please contact Olivia Davis, Community Developer, at youth@halifax.ca

Collection statement:

In accordance with Section 485 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), any personal information collected in this survey will only be used by municipal staff and, if necessary, individuals and/or organizations under service contract with the Municipality to fulfill the purpose for which it was originally collected, or for a use consistent with that purpose.

Please do not include any personal or sensitive information in your answers – like your name, contact details, or anything personal about you or someone else. Your feedback is valuable and may be used in reports shared publicly.

If you have any questions about the collection and use of your personal information, please call 311 or email contactus@311.halifax.ca.

OFFICIAL RULES: Youth Plan Survey Contest (the "Contest")

ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THESE CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES.

1.PRIZE & ODDS OF WINNING

Grand Prize:

One (1) Nintendo Switch

Additional Prizes:

Two (2) Apple Watches
Three (3) Apple Airpods

[Are there any additional smaller prizes, such as gift cards?]

Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received for the Contest.

No assignment, transfer, or substitution of prize is permitted, except that the Halifax Regional Municipality (the “Municipality”) reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize is unavailable.Prize awarded may not be exactly as illustrated.

2.CONTEST PERIOD

Contest Period begins on March 5^th, 2026 and ends on April 30^th, 2026 at 4:30pm ("Contest Period").

3.ELIGIBILITY

The Contest is open to all residents of the Halifax Regional Municipality, 13 to 24 years old, who have completed the Youth Plan Survey.

The Municipality shall have the right at any time to require proof of identity and/or eligibility to participate in the Contest. Failure to provide such proof within a reasonable period of time may result in disqualification. All personal and other information requested by and supplied to the Municipality for the purpose of this Contest must be truthful, complete, accurate and in no way misleading. The Municipality reserves the right to disqualify any entry or entrant in its sole discretion, should any entry or entrant at any stage supply untruthful, incomplete, inaccurate or misleading personal details and/or information.

4.ENTRY

No purchase necessary to enter or win.Residents of HRM may participate in the Contest by properly completing and submitting the survey questionnaire online at www.halifax.ca/youth , or completing and submitting the survey in person at a HRM Recreation session.

All entries must be received by the Municipality no later than the end of the Contest Period. All eligible entries will be included in the draw. All entries become the property of the Municipality and will not be returned to entrant.

LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.Multiple entries will be disqualified.

No responsibility is assumed by the Municipality for lost, late, or misdirected entries or for any human, computer, online, telephone, or technical malfunctions that may occur, or for any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest.

5. DRAW

The prizes will be awarded by random draw on May, 8 2026, from all eligible Contest entries received during the Contest period.

The selected entrants will be contacted by phone or email (using the contact information provided by the entrant at the time of entering the Contest) at least three (3) times within the fourteen (14) days after the draw. If the selected entrants cannot be contacted in that time, another entrant will be randomly selected and the process of contacting the new entrant will be repeated. Any entrant who cannot be contacted will be disqualified and have no recourse to towards the Municipality.

6. DECLARATION AND RELEASE FORM

The eligible entrants selected to receive the Contest Prizes will be required to sign a standard Declaration and Release Form: 1) confirming compliance with the Contest Rules; 2) permitting the Municipality to use his or her name, city of residence, and photograph; and 3) releasing the Municipality from all liability relating to the Contest. If the selected entrant is under the age of 19, the Declaration and Release must be signed by the parent or guardian. The selected entrant will have seven (7) days from the date of receipt to return a signed copy of the Declaration and Release Form to the Municipality. If the selected entrant does not return the signed copy in this time, another entrant will be randomly selected and the process of contacting the new entrant will be repeated. Any selected entrant who does not return a signed copy of the Declaration and Release Form as required above will be disqualified and have no recourse to towards the Municipality.

7. RELEASE BY ENTRANT

By entering this Contest, the entrants agrees, and by accepting the prize, the winner agrees (or if such person is under the age of 19, the parent or guardian agrees), to release and hold harmless the Municipality, its Mayor, Councillors, employees, representatives, volunteers, and agents (collectively, the "Releases") from any and all liability for any loss or personal injury (including death or damage to or loss of property), arising in whole or in part from their participation in the Contest and the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize, including any loss based on defamation and invasion of privacy.

8.LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

The Municipality is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Web site users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Municipality or by any technical or human error that may occur in the processing of submissions in the Contest.The Municipality assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, or destruction or unauthorized access to the Municipality’s Web site.The Municipality is not responsible for injury or damage to entrants' or to any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of the Web site.If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned by reason of infection by computer virus, worms, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Municipality that, in the sole opinion of the Municipality, could corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, the Municipality reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest for any draw(s) and select the winner from entries received for that draw prior to the action taken.IN NO EVENT WILL THE MUNICIPALITY BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO ANY INTERNET SITE RELATING TO THE CONTEST OR ARISING OUT OF PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST, OR BY THE ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, USE OF, OR FAILURE TO RECEIVE ANY PRIZE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, EVERYTHING ON SUCH SITES OR ANY PRIZE WON IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.

9.GENERAL CONDITIONS

In accordance with Section 485 of the Municipal Government Act, S.N.S. 1998, c. 18, the personal information collected on this survey will only be used by Municipal staff and, if necessary, individuals under service contract with HRM for purposes relating to the development of the Parks & Recreation’s Youth Plan and for prize selection; the information will not be presented or compiled in a manner that could potentially identify any respondent. If you have any questions about the collection and use of this information please contact the Access & Privacy Office at 902-943-2148 or privacy@halifax.ca.

By entering, you agree to these Official Rules and the decisions of the Municipality, which are final and binding in all respects.

This Contest is governed by, and these rules will be construed and interpreted pursuant to, the laws of the Province of Nova Scotia and the laws of Canada applicable therein.

The Municipality reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds, in its sole discretion, to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest, or to be acting in violation of the Official Rules.Any use of robotic, automatic, programmed, or like entry methods will void all such entries by such methods. The Municipality reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, amend, modify or terminate all or any portion of this Contest at any time for any reason without prior notice.

The Municipality reserves the right to amend these Rules as it determines from time to time without any notice.

Youth Services Plan 2026-2029 engagement survey

Project overview

Engagement opportunities

What can be influenced at this time:

Next steps:

Collection statement:

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