It seems that every week one more Canadian sports federation is splashed with revelations concerning cases of psychological, physical or sexual abuse. Whether at Sport Canada, Gymnastics Canada, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton or Hockey Canada, organizational problems are clearly noticeable.
In the case of Hockey Canada, we are talking about a real institutionalization of a culture of rape since a dozen complaints of sexual violence were settled by mutual agreement through a monetary fund that was created for this effect. It’s simple, in the last 30 years, more actions have been taken at Hockey Canada to stifle complaints of sexual violence than to prevent them.
In addition, Hockey Canada’s organizational structure is clearly flawed as Board members were not immediately made aware of allegations of sexual misconduct, despite the fact that nearly half of the 2018 Canadian junior team seems to be involved.
To add to the indecency, the Minister of Canadian Heritage at the time, Kirsty Duncan, was not made aware of the situation, nor were any of her successors, despite the fact that the department had made the request. Hockey Canada and Sport Canada seem to want to do as they please.
The Dubin Commission
You have to go back to the summer of 1988 to remember the last time the Canadian sports world was so shaken. Following the doping scandal of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who had just won the 100 meter event at the Seoul Olympics, the federal government decided to create the Commission of Inquiry into the Use of Prohibited Drugs and Practices to improve athletic performance, chaired by Judge Charles Dubin.
The creation of this commission of inquiry sought mainly to calm the dissatisfaction of Canadian citizens concerning the financial participation of the federal government in the Canadian Athletics Federation and the Canadian Weightlifting Federation, both of which are grappling with major doping cases.
The report of the commission was published in 1990 and made it possible to shed light on the structures of these organizations, on the modifications to be made and to reiterate the reasons behind the state’s commitment in the sports field.
The history of sport in Canada gives us arguments for considering the political solution of a commission of inquiry. Even if the cause at the heart of the establishment of the Dubin Commission does not resonate with the current situation, positive lessons can be drawn from it. Here are the reasons why a commission of inquiry would be relevant:
1) We find ourselves today with a real moral crisis since the confidence of the public is strongly affected by the multiple revelations.
2) The answers offered during the meetings of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage were not satisfactory to the various political parties.
3) A commission of inquiry would include the number of sports federations deemed necessary to take stock of the situation of cases of physical, psychological and sexual abuse in sport.
4) The Minister of Sport, Pascale St-Onge, finds herself limited in her possible actions to force a real change of governance in sports federations.
5) Disclosure of the facts to the general public would hopefully provide a path of healing for victims of abuse.
Finally, sport is recognized as a vector of social cohesion, whether at the community or national level. However, the current situation no longer allows us to see our athletes and our organizations in a positive light. A big blow must be made to restore the image of organized sport in Canada.