Thank you, Madam Chair.
I was listening to Mr. Bittle speak earlier, and we all agree. I think we all have the same goal.
In my view, Mr. Bittle sees this motion as something much more restrictive than it actually is. On the contrary, the motion is exactly in line with the arguments we have just heard.
The Minister of Sport is going to table a policy on sport that will be in place for about ten years. The least we can do to serve the athletic community and the sport community in Canada is to ensure that this new sport policy is as rigorous as possible and as responsive as possible to the expectations of the community.
We would like to know what is going to be in this policy. We are not asking for a final report, but we believe it would be highly relevant and useful to be able to make recommendations before the final version of this policy is tabled. This is our role as a committee. On the one hand, it allows us to ask questions of the minister and, on the other hand, as Ms. Gladu said earlier, it allows us to add meetings to meet with other sports organizations and federations.
We are expecting documents and minutes from several sports organizations by the end of the week. These will certainly give us new insights and arguments. So I don't feel at all that the two meetings we are requesting will close the file on safe sport in Canada. On the contrary, I think that it is in keeping with our work. This is not at all a way to shortcut the work.
In fact, I would venture to say that the more time passes on this sports issue, the more I feel that there should be a special committee formed by the House of Commons to get to the bottom of these things, because it takes much more time than the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage can give it. I believe we should be focusing more on this with a special committee, but maybe we should be making that request elsewhere.
When we come back from the holidays, what we are asking for as a committee is not complicated. We are not asking to restrict the right to speak or listen to sports federations, athletes' groups and people in the community. On the contrary, we want to know what is currently on the table for Minister St‑Onge and what she intends to put in her sport policy. We will be living with this policy for 10 years, so we need to make sure it is done right. That is the one and only purpose of this motion, which is very open-ended and very much in line with the spirit of the committee's work on the issue of sports over the last few months.
That's all.