Ottawa will implement new measures, particularly in terms of funding, to make the high-level sports environment safer and to counter abuse among athletes.
As of April 2023, Sport Canada will review the entire funding system with national organizations receiving federal money, Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge announced on Sunday in Montreal.
The new prerequisites will be developed over the coming months by Sport Canada. They will aim to enforce governance, accountability and security requirements if organizations wish to obtain financial assistance from Ottawa.
“This review is essential. It will allow us to strengthen our ability to carry out follow-ups and verifications in order to ensure that the standards are met with organizations,” said Ms.me St-Onge, during a press conference alongside members of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees, on the sidelines of their annual meeting.
One of the prerequisites will be to gradually make membership of the Office of the Commissioner for Integrity in Sport (BCIS) mandatory. This new independent mechanism, which has a budget of $16 million over three years, will begin its activities on June 20.
The BCIS is a “major step forward” in breaking the culture of silence in the sports world, says Mme St-Onge. It will give athletes “a clear, independent path they can trust to report cases of abuse and mistreatment”, she argues. This complaints mechanism will initially cover national teams, but could extend to recreational organizations, the Liberal minister said.
She wants to initiate discussions with the provinces that would like to set up the federal office on their territory instead of creating their own complaints body, like Quebec. “With Quebec, the goal will be for the two mechanisms to work hand in hand to support athletes in one system or the other,” said Ms.me St-Onge.
She also announced Sunday that Sport Canada will have an advisory committee made up of athletes. The formula remains to be defined, but he will have the task of increasing the representation of athletes in the sport system and of submitting advice and alignments consistent with the reality of athletes in the country.
This spring, the Liberal minister called an emergency meeting with sports leaders to find solutions following numerous allegations of mistreatment of athletes from various disciplines playing in national organizations.
In recent months, the gymnastics, boxing, bobsleigh and skeleton communities have written to Sport Canada asking for independent investigations into their sport.
Mme St-Onge is committed to continuing this work of reflection. According to her, it is not only the number of medals that counts, but also the whole “process” leading to the podium.
On Saturday, the Canadian Olympic Committee also announced an investment of $10 million for measures promoting a safe sports environment. Amounts could be invested in the areas of prevention, education and governance.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.