Evidence of meeting #70 for Canadian Heritage in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was agreement.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:05 p.m.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
The question I asked was whether you had received reports from Canadian Soccer Business and whether you had indeed received the amounts. Can you report back to us on that?
12:05 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
If I can get the exact things you're ultimately looking for, I'll be happy to provide them.
12:05 p.m.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you.
Can you also send us the assessment of your agreement that confirms your status as an amateur sport association recognized by the Government of Canada? Do you have a legal opinion confirming that everything is in order?
12:05 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
Yes, we have all of those opinions about our status and our tax status as a registered amateur sport organization, and we're happy to provide them to the clerk and to the committee when available.
12:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much.
Now I will go to Mr. Julian.
Peter, you have two and a half minutes, please.
12:05 p.m.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Thank you very much, Chair.
On a sadder or more tragic note, I would say that Canada Soccer also deserves a red card when it comes to the protection of both male and female players across the country. Just look at the case of Bob Birarda, a sexual predator. For years, he was not prevented from being involved with Canada Soccer at various levels of the organization.
What lessons has Canada Soccer learned from that case?
My question is very simple. These egregious cases of sexual abuse are something that Canada Soccer needs to take seriously. How many complaints are currently being investigated by Canada Soccer, and how are those complaints being investigated?
12:05 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
The incident and the investigation that took place in regard to Bob Birarda, which I believe the member is referencing, is the only case we have had as a national body.
I believe we have done a very good job over the last couple of years, and after the recommendations that were made by the McLaren report, we'll go even further than required within the document itself. We will make this the safest sport possible.
There was a reference made to how Mr. Birarda was able to continue coaching. Again, I'll make it very clear that this was a 2008 incident that we investigated just last year and that made the McLaren more final, but there is a general misinterpretation of what a licence is and the control that Canada Soccer had at that time over the ability to control coaches. People generally equate a coaching licence with a driver's licence, for example, which is—
12:05 p.m.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Sorry. I hate to interrupt, but I have only a few seconds left.
I've asked how many cases are being investigated and how they are being investigated. That is my question.
I find it stretches credibility to say that there are no cases to be investigated, given the size and scope of Canada Soccer across the country. How many cases are being investigated, either at the provincial level or nationally, and how are they being investigated?
12:05 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
There are zero cases currently being investigated nationally.
As of March 1, 2023, we are now a part of the independent third party investigative body, so the question would have to be asked of them.
Provincially, I don't know the answer, but I can certainly get it for you.
12:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much.
Now we go to the Conservatives, and we have Mr. Shields.
You have five minutes, Mr. Shields.
12:05 p.m.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
That's why we also need a past president to be here for some of the answers.
Words matter, Mr. Cochrane. When you said that you got the board together to see how you were going to make the women's team more successful or to make it successful, that is a negative thing, because they are successful and have been for many years, so be careful with what you say with your words. They matter.
You also said that they're paid per match. I've been involved in sports a long time. Those organizations that are responsible for organizing matches can really make a difference. Some teams get to play a lot of matches, and some teams don't.
How are you going to take it upon yourself to make sure the women's team get paid equally because they play as many games?
12:10 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
Again, I don't think I ever made the reference that I am going to make or we're going to start to make the women's national team successful. We acknowledge that they have been successful and have been successful for decades.
12:10 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
Well, if I did, it was a mistake. I certainly didn't mean that, and I know that the women's team would know that I don't think that at all.
Second, to your question, generally speaking—with the exception, perhaps, of 2021 and 2022, when the World Cup qualifying campaign for the men was prolonged due to some cancellations in 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic—our women play around the same time. We don't have the ability to dictate when our men and women play.
We operate within FIFA-mandated international windows, and there are, generally speaking, five to six of those windows available in any given year. Those windows are about 10 to 12 days long, which would mean that over the course of a calendar year, our men and women are with us, Canada Soccer, for anywhere between 15 and 60 to 70 days.
The other days, so the 80%, they participate with their professional clubs.
12:10 p.m.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
Yes. Thank you, sir.
How many players are there in Canada's minor soccer system? How many players do you collect the $9 from?
12:10 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
That number is anywhere between 750,000 to about 800,000.
12:10 p.m.
Conservative
12:10 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
That is correct.
12:10 p.m.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
Thank you.
Now, when we talk about the contract that says.... There's no clause in it, the original agreement, to allocate for a growth element. Is this part of the contract that you don't call bad, but that needs to be modernized, where there's no growth contract in it?
12:10 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
As I identified in the opening statement, and I believe as I said at some point during this meeting, that is one of the elements that we need to discuss with Canadian Soccer Business to modernize.
There are two elements of the existing deal that we would like to see adjusted, and those are, one, the ability for us to reap the rewards of the success of our national teams and the organization, and to benefit from incremental revenue. The second is to address—in some way, shape or form—the term.
12:10 p.m.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
If CSB and CPL are two legal entities, if for some reason CPL folded next year for financial reasons, would CSA have to continue honouring the CSB representative agreement, and where would the money go?
12:10 p.m.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
Sorry, Madam Chair, there was a brief delay. I didn't hear the question.
Could you repeat the question, please?
12:10 p.m.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
You have the CSB and you have the CPL. If the CPL doesn't function, if it dissolves, where does the money go?