Evidence of meeting #30 for Canadian Heritage in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sports.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Former Executive Director, Fast and Female
It pertains to the role of women on boards of directors. That kind of decision, about how a sport will be sold, are commercial marketing decisions that are made by businesspeople sitting around a table. I would like to know if female athletes took part in those decisions or if the decisions were imposed on them. How can we ensure that athletes are at the table to present their point of view? How can we ensure that businesswomen, who also understand marketing and know that it must be done with respect, have a greater presence and that their views are taken into consideration?
NDP
Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC
I will step in here.
Knowing how much investment Canada Olympic House needs from several orders of government, including Quebec and the federal government, which has invested $3 million, we cannot stand in the way of ambition. Moreover, you mentioned that these boards of directors choose athletes' uniforms, for instance. When members of the Canadian Olympic Committee appeared before us, we deliberately told them—or at least I remember saying it myself—that we would not talk about Marcel Aubut and his inappropriate behaviour because we did not want to distract anyone. I think they should come before the committee again. If we wait too long, the winter Olympics will be here. We need to talk about this. We often talk about sources of inspiration and I think that is very important. Is Marcel Aubut a model for certain coaches or for a board of directors that chooses a sexy bathing suit for a sport that could be played in a t-shirt?
Ms. Pattenden, I'm not sure if you were able to hear what I said.
Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Sport Institute
Yes, I did. I believe uniforms certainly fall with the National Olympic Committee. I think certainly on the pro sports it's also through the international federation, so I think a conversation with the Canadian Olympic Committee would be helpful.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much.
I want to thank the witnesses for appearing here and giving us the amount of information. There's always a new spin when we hear from other people. There's a new idea or a new factor that raises its head. So thank you very much for coming. We're going to recess for five minutes, and then we'll go in camera.
Thank you.
[Proceedings continue in camera]
