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Most people wouldn’t have bothered.

For 20 years off and on, Lorne Goldenberg has been pressing the federal government to open up the business of fitness programs. He’s nearly ready to throw in the towel.

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The owner of Strength Tek Fitness since 1987 and a former strength and conditioning coach for the Ottawa Senators, Goldenberg initially saw the federal government as a potentially lucrative way of diversifying his business.

The largest federal departments sponsor fitness centres for employees, making it a million-dollar-a-year opportunity. “I wanted to know how to compete for this business,” Goldenberg said.

He learned the answer most often is that you don’t.

For decades the gym services provider of choice in the federal government has been the Recreation Association of the Public Service of Canada, or RA Centre for short. Once part of government, the RA Centre has morphed into a not-for-profit organization that operates a 40-acre sports complex along Riverside Drive.