Federal Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge is urging her provincial and territorial counterparts to create independent bodies to handle athlete harassment complaints by the end of the year.
“All governments — provincial, territorial and federal — will work together to ensure that every athlete and participant in Canada is protected by an independent mechanism, aiming to achieve this by the end of 2023,” St-Onge tweeted. , SATURDAY.
In recent weeks, the federal government has welcomed the progress made by provinces and territories in providing athletes with similar standards for reporting assaults and harassment. He was also pleased to note the establishment of a mechanism allowing the authorities to launch independent investigations.
Ms. St-Onge recalled that Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have implemented such mechanisms, and that the others could create their own organization or join the actions of the federal sports integrity commissioner. .
The Minister announced on Saturday that targets have been set for all provinces and territories to meet this commitment by the end of 2023.
According to her, establishing a targeted calendar represents “a great progress”. She also pointed out that setting up and managing a credible organization takes time.
“We understand that each jurisdiction has its own process, its own budget, its own timetable that we have to respect. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t take the safety of athletes, children, teens and young adults across the country seriously,” St-Onge said after meeting with her counterparts. provincial and territorial.
The host of the meeting, Prince Edward Island’s Minister of Health, said the goal is “to eliminate all offenders from sport” in Canada.
“We don’t just want to act for the sake of acting, we want to act the right way,” he said. Only by taking a pan-Canadian approach can we help sport be a positive force for our athletes of all ages and levels. »
Recent allegations of assault and harassment involving Hockey Canada — as well as bobsleigh, skeleton and gymnastics athletes — have led to what St-Onge called a “crisis” in Canadian sport.
“What is important is to have consistency in the system. At the moment, we find that it’s very patchwork, she told the Standing Committee on the Status of Women this week. I don’t want to pass the buck to anyone, but the reality is that the sport touches multiple jurisdictions. I can’t fix everything on my own. »
National inquiry demanded
Last month, a group of academics also called for a national inquiry into widespread sexual, physical and psychological abuse against athletes in sports settings in Canada.
According to these academics, the current intentions of the federal government did not allow people to be held accountable.
Ms. St-Onge said Saturday that to solve this problem, sports federations must ensure that offenders suffer the consequences. Parents and coaches need to be informed and need to take leadership.
“It’s really a collective responsibility,” she said. No single person is going to be able to change the culture in a sport or be completely successful in stopping abuse and mistreatment. It is truly a shared responsibility. »