Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Gymnastics Canada must be concerned about reassuring parents across the country about the safety of the sport.
Trudeau answered a question this morning about the possible suspension of funding from Gymnastics Canada.
Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge told The Canadian Press that she will suspend funding for the sports organization until it adheres to the policies of the new Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. (BCIS). St-Onge recently suspended funding to Hockey Canada following explosive revelations surrounding the handling of a sexual assault complaint and its out-of-court settlement.
While in Prince Edward Island on Friday, Trudeau said he had spoken several times in recent weeks with the sports minister’s office about the unacceptable conduct of certain national sports federations – and their responsibility to ensure “the safety of our children, and our athletes”.
“That’s why we made clear requests to Gymnastics Canada and others (organizations), to foster transparency, to adopt accountability measures, because yes, we must continue to support the sport, and there are so many great volunteers across the country contributing to the well-being of young people in sport,” he said.
“But we need to make sure we do it in a safe way, and we will continue as a government, in partnership with other levels of government, to advocate for changes to be made to ensure our children are safe.” , he continued.
St-Onge is calling on all national sports organizations to adhere to the policies of the new BCIS, which began receiving complaints of abuse in sport on June 20.
“It’s not even a question of accountability to the government, because yes, we do require that they adhere to BCIS policies so that they can receive their funding again,” Trudeau said in Stratford. Prince Edward Island. They should be concerned with satisfying parents across the country, reassuring them about the safety of their children, demonstrating that they are an organization that promotes safe values and a safe environment, values that every parent is entitled to expect. , and from which children can draw inspiration. »
The minister said Canada is facing a “crisis” in sports safety, and that allegations of abuse, sexual assault or mismanagement of public funds have been raised against at least eight national sports federations since that she arrived in post, five months ago.
More than 500 Canadian gymnasts on Thursday called on Canada’s sport minister to freeze funding to their national sports organization.
“The amount of young children who are inspired by athletes, if they end up in situations or organizations that don’t take care of them properly, then it will have a domino effect in the rest of society. We are aware that we must do more, and this government wants to make sure that happens,” said Mr. Trudeau.
“However, I really want to salute the work of all those parents across the country who stood up, who spoke out, and all those athletes who did the same, like those gymnasts who said, ‘This has to stop.’ We must listen to them. We need to act. And that’s exactly what we do. »
In a public letter to Ms. St-Onge on Thursday — and after four months of “sharing devastating stories” of years of abuse — “Gymnasts for Change,” a group that represents 508 athletes, reiterates its calls for strict measures.
This includes a third party investigation and suspension of funding, as was done with Hockey Canada.
Their initial request, made several months ago, the group says, was ignored by Gymnastics Canada (GymCan), Sport Canada and “now by your office, and to the great detriment of child gymnasts across the country.”
This letter comes a week after a trainer in Lethbridge, Alta., was charged with sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl.