(Ottawa) As the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games scheduled for this summer approach, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee are requesting additional annual funding of $104 million from the federal government.
The COC and CPC made this joint request on Monday, calling on the government to make significant investments for a stronger and safer sports system.
The two committees insist that these investments are “urgently necessary” after publishing the results of a Deloitte study on the financial health of Canadian national sports organizations (NSOs).
This gap of 104 million between needs and current funding would be due to 19 years of inflation since the last increase in 2005 (20 million), the sunsetting of issue-based funding (57 million) and the cost of increased demands on ONS from stakeholders (27 million).
According to this study, NSOs are being asked to do more with fewer resources. Significant progress that has been made in safe sport, gender equity, community access and mental health support would be at risk.
The COC and CPC believe that Canadians “deserve” a safe, inclusive and accessible system.
“To meet this crossroads, we strongly recommend that the government ensure that Canada’s NSOs benefit from the funding required to provide athletes and all Canadians with the safe and inclusive sports system to which they are entitled, playing fields to the podium,” we can read in a press release.
“We knew this issue was growing, but seeing the numbers in black and white really highlights that we are on the brink of a crisis,” added David Shoemaker, CEO and General Secretary of the COC. NSOs cannot continue on this trajectory. They cannot run up deficits. If nothing changes, difficult decisions will have to be made.
“Without an immediate injection of funds, athletes will suffer over the next 12 to 18 months as we prepare to act on the findings. These funds are necessary to continue the development of safe and inclusive sport in Canada, which will benefit all Canadians. »