Sport Minister to Launch Independent Review of Abuse in Canadian Sport
December 8, 2023
Early next week, Canada’s Sport Minister, Carla Qualtrough, will be announcing a "formal independent mechanism" to review systemic abuse and human rights violations in Canadian sports. The move follows growing calls for a public inquiry from athletes, coaches and MPs across the country.
As Human Rights Day approaches on December 10, addressing abuse in all its forms is at the forefront of people’s minds. Canadian sport is in the midst of a safe sports crisis as trust in sports leaders and organizations is said to be declining. Reports of misconduct are increasing and many sports federations have been saturated with claims of harassment, bullying and abuse.
Last year, Hockey Canada was scrutinized for several allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against members of Canada’s national junior hockey team – some dating back decades. Experts say the issue has ignited a national conversation about a culture of silence in the sport. In response, the Government of Canada created a new Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) which former Minister of Sport Pascale-St-Onge mandated. She had spoken of a mechanism that would integrate trauma-informed processes to provide fairness, respect and equity to all parties, but nothing ever launched. St-Onge has since been moved to another cabinet.
Elite athletes from multiple sports have accused the federal government of failing to act in response to abuse reports. In April, they appeared before a House of Commons committee to demand a public inquiry. The athletes, including Olympic boxer Myriam Da Silva Rondeau, soccer players Ciara McCormack and Andrea Neil and fencer Emily Mason, told MPs about the physical and mental abuse they endured at the hands of coaches and other officials.
Before an audience attending the Sporting Chance Forum at the UN headquarters in Switzerland, Qualtrough said that the government is finalizing a new mandatory governance code for all national sport organizations. She added that a series of immediate actions will be taken to address issues that abuse survivors have exposed and raised to parliamentary committees.
"We need to talk about racism and misogyny and homophobia and transphobia. We need to talk about the negative, inappropriate and dangerous behavior that has been normalized. The language used. The gestures. The mockery. The intimidation," she said. "We need to embed accountability, integrity and safe sport into everything we do... We need to talk about roles and responsibilities, parents, athletes, officials, administrators, volunteers, fans, coaches and governments. We all have a role to play," she stated.
Canadian Gymnastics is another sport that has been under scrutiny amongst various allegations of abuse being ignored by officials. Many gymnasts have come out to say that the Canadian system has failed them. Gymnasts for Change, a group that has grown to over 500 current and retired gymnasts, has been calling on Sport Canada for an independent investigation for years. The group is dedicated to eliminating abuse in gymnastics.
Kim Shore, the co-founder of Gymnasts for Change Canada, said: "Calling for an investigation into the entire Canadian sport system that is fully independent of sport, trauma-informed and done through a human rights lens is the first step. It will, however, require ongoing consultation with survivor advocates for healing and prevention of future abuse." Her group met with Qualtrough at the forum.
Source: CBC