Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I have a motion to present, which you received notice about earlier this summer.
As Canadians we are all incredibly proud of the achievements of Canadian athletes during the Paris Olympics—27 medals, including nine gold, and memories to last a lifetime. We know of Summer McIntosh, who won four medals, including three gold; Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers, hammer toss; and the many successes in our many team sports in the Olympics this year.
We also know of the heroic work of the brave women of our Canadian soccer team, who fought and clawed their way up but, unfortunately, came up short—no less heroic. However, with all these fundamentally Canadian examples of hard work, honour and commitment to sport, there are also the fundamentally un-Canadian actions that we saw from officials linked to our women's soccer team and Soccer Canada. While it shouldn't take away from the incredible accomplishments of our athletes—both our Canadian soccer players and the members of the Canadian Olympic team—we cannot deny that it was a massive distraction for them, particularly for the women of our soccer team, and it certainly harmed Canada's reputation on the world stage in the sporting world. The use of drones to spy on other teams, followed by statements downplaying that activity and even suggesting that “everyone cheats”, is unacceptable.
We as parliamentarians have a responsibility to help get to the bottom of this and, more importantly, make sure it never happens again, particularly as we're set to co-host the 2026 World Cup, which is the largest world sporting event. That's why I table the following motion:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of no less than six hours to study the role of officials associated to the Canadian women's soccer team and Canada Soccer in the use of drones for spying during the Paris Olympics or in previous competitions, which has damaged Canada's reputation and punished the players for something they had no part in, and that the committee summon, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1)(a), Bev Priestman, Jasmine Mander, Joseph Lombardi and John Herdman to appear before committee for no less than two hours and before September 27, 2024, in addition to the chief executive officer and representatives of Soccer Canada and representatives of FIFA, and past or present Team Canada soccer players; and that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House; and that pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.
I note that some dates require changes. Of course, as the mover of this motion I'm unable to change them, but I certainly welcome any amendments from colleagues to do so.