Canadian Heritage committee  I don't have much more to add to that. I agree.

Canadian Heritage committee  Very much, yes.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, I think transformation needs to happen. Quite often, that's like a forest fire burning through something so it can renew itself, so I would say that transformation needs to happen through new people. I know board members in the past who have challenged and have received physical threats from other board members when they're speaking up for transparency.

Canadian Heritage committee  With regard to the Bob Birarda situation, I know it's Steve Reed, but he was also there during those periods of time. This wasn't just about sexual text messages. This was about much, much more. Sexual text messages are a form of grooming and are incredibly damaging, but this was much more that I personally reported to their independent fact-finder, Anne Chopra, back in the day.

Canadian Heritage committee  While this transition is going on, it's very unhealthy, so supporting athletes and people involved—it's not just the athletes—financially and psychologically to help stabilize is very important. I think whistle-blower protection is incredibly important, because these are the people who are really trying to chime in and say there's an issue.

Canadian Heritage committee  I can personally speak to there being certain clauses within contracts that prohibit people from speaking about certain things. As an assistant coach, when I finally did get a contract with the association, there were certain clauses, things like non-disclosure agreements, whereby you couldn't talk about a situation.

Canadian Heritage committee  I can draw upon personal experience where everything was going A-okay; actually, it was not okay. I had reported the Bob Birarda situation. A few months later, I became an assistant coach, and things were seemingly okay. I was offered contracts, and I was offered help to get my coaching certification.

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely. It's very wise. I think we can look to other countries, like we've just brought in this beautiful American example of what's happened to help navigate through these challenging times. If you look at the governance code in England for their high-performance and grassroots sporting organizations, they have a common governance code, where the government is very much involved, and it spreads down through the organizations.

Canadian Heritage committee  It's fundamental. To those who are not acting while listening to all that has gone on, what is blocking that action? To listen to what athletes have been speaking about with compassionate ears, with wisdom; to look at things from an empathetic perspective; to discern what is going through a very complex situation takes leadership.

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely. I think that the national inquiry is the scrutiny that needs to happen. A forensic audit into the finances going back 20 years will give evidence of the patterns of behaviour that have occurred financially. When questions have been asked in the past by coaches or athletes striving for compensation, for example, for player compensation packages, and that transparency is not forthcoming, or money and camps all of a sudden seem to disappear, that's really questionable.

Canadian Heritage committee  The start point is to define what safety is. That means free from harm, and that has to be our aim. In order to create an environment and culture in which people can be healthy, thrive and perform at their best effectiveness, it has to be free from harm, because you cannot thrive if you're in defence mode and protective mode.

Canadian Heritage committee  Well, first of all, when you consider performance, a lot of the performances are occurring in spite of it. When players and athletes are calling for transparency over and over again, it means they do not trust, and trust is fundamental to any human relationship. When you're talking about the ethics of how people are going about it, you can see a pattern of behaviour over time.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you. I played in four World Cups, was a captain on the national team, and also helped coach Canada in a fifth World Cup, so I bring over 30 years of experience from which to speak. It's been encouraging to witness these hearings. At the same time, it's been disheartening to watch the responses to your questions and the answers of Canada Soccer.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. There are, I think, the formal codes of conduct and then the informal codes of conduct, and people within the organization can pick and choose. In my case, when I reported with the Bob Birarda situation, it was anonymous. When I reported certain financial irregularities, it was me and the head coach at the time, and there certainly were retributions at that point.

Status of Women committee  A retribution.... So, everything was great before.