FEWO Committee Report

Supplementary Report on behalf of the Conservative Members of the Status of Women committee

On behalf of the Conservative Members of the Status of Women committee, we submit this supplementary report to the committee’s study on Women in Sport focusing on the abuse and maltreatment of athletes.

Across Canada, hundreds of athletes stepped forward to share their concerns with the sport system in Canada and its lack of accountability and transparency. Testimony shared with the committee included body shaming, grooming, sexual misconduct and abuse, physical abuse and coercive behavior. Witnesses testified that allegations brought forward to sporting organizations were not addressed or investigated. The committee heard from witnesses who were forced to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements and others who are signatories to an ongoing class-action lawsuit.

Many witnesses expressed the need for this government to conduct an “independent, trauma-informed, survivor-led inquiry into maltreatment in Canadian sport.” The priority of this proposed solution is independence from conflict of interest and bias. Athletes shared their lack of trust with the current processes within their organizations and with the complaint mechanism and financial links to Sport Canada.

Although many Canadian Sporting Organizations have signed the Universal Code of conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport, it is not clear that these organizations have fully addressed either the claims made against them or developed a reform process to improve their governance.  According to an access to information request, the Government of Canada re-established funding to Gymnastics Canada and Hockey Canada once they signed the Universal Code[i]. Conservatives, however, question why the Government of Canada re-established funding to these organizations as multiple allegations continued to emerge in national media[ii] and through witness testimony in both the Heritage Committee and the Status of Women Committee.

Under the current government, there is an agreement that organizations must sign the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS).  According to the Sport Integrity Commissioners:

“The Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) is the core document that sets harmonized rules to be adopted by sport organizations that receive funding from the Government of Canada to advance a respectful sport culture that delivers quality, inclusive, accessible, welcoming and safe sport experiences.”[iii]

The UCCMS is a code of conduct that sets out rules which promote inclusive, safe, and welcoming sport experiences. By signing the Consent Form, Participants agree to abide by the UCCMS. Participants also agree to be subject to the jurisdiction of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (“SDRCC”) and related services and processes which relate to the administration and enforcement of the UCCMS.

Athletes have shared their concerns of allegations being brought forward to organizations that were never acted upon:

According to Ciara McCormick “Numerous administrators are implicated in the Birarda cover-up, but few have faced any real consequences for their actions.”[iv]

Our committee heard that the trust between athletes and organizations has been broken.  For example, Andrea Neil shared her disappointment with Canada Soccer “Canada Soccer could not be counted upon. Our national federation had completely failed at safeguarding.”[v]

The Office of the Sports Integrity Commissioner is an important mechanism established by the government to address maltreatment. Unfortunately, many survivors question the independence of this authority.

As Myriam Da Silva Rondeau stated “When athletes say there’s no system to protect them, they aren’t referring to the number of resources or programs because there are a lot of them. They mean there is no authority to hold people accountable for their actions or to impose consequences, something that’s completely nonexistent in the sport system in Canada” [vi]

Conservatives recommend that:

1. A) Acknowledging the extensive and courageous testimony the Standing Committee on the Status of Women received over the course of our study, that the terms of reference for any inquiry include an examination of
• i. The failure of sporting bodies to report or address breaches or alleged breaches of the criminal code to the proper authorities
• ii. The manner in which law enforcement authorities deal with allegations of criminality in the sport context
• iii. How sports organisations can improve their ability to address and sanction patterns of abusive behaviour
• iv. Specific legislative changes which could improve sports governance and improve legal protections for athletes in both professional and amateur contexts
2. B) That the Government of Canada, working with provincial and territorial governments, national sport organizations, and coaches certification resources, create a centralized registry for coaches who have been sanctioned by a sporting or regulatory body for conduct of an inappropriate or abusive nature.