Canadian Heritage Committee on Feb. 16th, 2023

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Are you aware of Justice Perell's ruling on torture and other types of abuse, in the Canadian Hockey League, of high performance athletes in Canada's major junior hockey? These are despicable acts of unacceptable violence that have occurred in 38 of the 60 teams in the Canadian Hockey League.

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

I read this report, and I had the same reaction that all Canadians have had to the violence and abuse that has been reported in the media.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

What actions did you take immediately, as the commissioner responsible for the implementation of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport, the UCCMS?

What actions can you take to reassure young people, and parents too?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

The incidents referred to are absolutely prohibited behaviour. They are forms of violence that are absolutely subject to sanctions under the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and address Maltreatment in Sport. When we talk about sanctions, these are sanctions that can go so far as a lifetime ban from participating in the world of sport, in some cases.

I just want to make a nuance. When a particular example is cited, it does not mean that the participants in question necessarily fall under the authority of Hockey Canada or the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.

It is true that I agree in every way with all Canadians that these situations are absolutely appalling. Furthermore, these behaviours are absolutely prohibited and there is a way to impose sanctions directly on individuals, but in order to do that, the sanctions have to come directly from the commissioner's office. Under our procedures, what happened should be within our jurisdiction.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

I will now go to the New Democratic Party. Peter Julian, you have six minutes.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Pelletier, for being here and for your work, and congratulations on your appointment.

We all share the feeling that the sports community in Canada is in crisis. We hear about it every day. Since we began our investigation, we have seen how unsafe it is for children, for youth and for adults.

There is no doubt that we have a lot of work to do to have a sport environment in this country where athletes can perform at their best without any violence or abuse, either among athletes or in the public eye.

Earlier, you mentioned 17 cases that are under investigation.

Can you tell us which categories these 17 potential or alleged cases of violence or abuse fall into?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Thank you for your question.

The mandate of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner deals exclusively with issues of abuse and discrimination, or other forms of behaviour that may have led to forms of aggression. It is exclusively these types of cases that we are talking about.

Of course, abuse, as defined by the UCCMS, can take many forms, whether it is sexual, psychological or physical abuse. All of these forms are absolutely unacceptable and constitute behaviour that we consider to be prohibited.

I want to emphasize, because sometimes it is forgotten, that the behaviour that has allowed these assaults to continue is also prohibited.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thank you for your response.

I find it very worrying that we already have 17 cases under investigation. You are investigating cases of abuse, sexual assault or violence. This is very resource intensive and shows the importance of your organization.

I would like to talk now about sanctioning powers.

How far can you go? Can you report these cases to the police? Can you ban athletes, coaches for life? What are the limits of your sanctions, currently?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Thank you for your question.

The sanctions that can be imposed are described in the UCCMS. The sanctions relate to participation in sport. As you mentioned, in the most serious cases, this can mean a lifetime ban from sport.

You are correct that while some behaviours are violations of the UCCMS, they can also be criminal. Our office and our mandate are not a substitute for the criminal law. We do not replace the criminal law; we create a system to protect sport participation in addition to the criminal system.

Obviously, if there are criminal acts, they must be treated as such.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Do you have the power to report criminal investigations to the authorities?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

In some cases, one not only can, but must.

We have a legal duty to report; we do not ignore it. There is also the additional duty to report that is built into the UCCMS.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thank you.

You mentioned earlier a publicly accessible sanctions list. My understanding is that you do not have subpoena powers. Have you been speaking with the Minister of Sport or with the federal government about acquiring the ability to put in place a publicly accessible sanctions list and the subpoena powers?

Of course, in so many cases part of the problem, as we've heard, is particularly with coaches moving. They are accused of the most horrendous abuses and then transfer somewhere else. Because there's no publicly accessible sanctions list, that person continues to work in sports, even though they've committed the most cruel violation of trust towards athletes.

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Absolutely, the UCCMS does contemplate a publicly available sanctions registry, and our office has been pushing and continues to really push for that. As you mentioned, there cannot be any gaps for anyone looking to perpetrate harm or cause harm or any loopholes or gaps that can be used to navigate through jurisdictions.

This is absolutely the reason we are very strongly in favour of, and actually demand, a public registry.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Yes, and has the federal government responded? Has the federal government said yes?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

We have had discussions to bring forward the position. We've been told that they are working on this study.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

This is my last question.

Have you received a complaint about the discrimination against and treatment of the women's national soccer team by Canada Soccer?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

While Canada Soccer has signed an agreement—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have six seconds.

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

—to use the services of OSIC, this agreement will be in effect starting on March 1. I cannot say at this stage that we have received matters that relate to Canada Soccer.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Peter.

Now the committee moves into the second round for this hour. It's a five-minute round.

I will begin the round with the Conservative Party and Rachael Thomas. Go ahead, Ms. Thomas.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Actually, Chair, I think it's me. Thanks so much.

Thank you, Madame Pelletier, for being here today.

The committee is very interested in looking at the governance of sport and how these incidents that are reported are followed up on.

Where does the $16 million of funding come from?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

It comes from the federal government. It's the Government of Canada. It is administered by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, or the SDRCC, for purposes of the abuse-free sport program.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Thank you.

I have a concern that it's not independent. We've heard from a lot of the survivors of abuse that, in many cases, the fox is watching the henhouse. Those who are at the top are not taking action. We know that the minister has been in the role for several years, and still we see a constant flow of these events.

I thought the tracking of sanctions was a very good idea. You mentioned a database to keep track of them. Does this database exist already, or is it something that you're planning to do and then make public?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

We have the mandate and we maintain a registry of sanctions as of today.

The limitation that I outlined is as it relates to making the information contained in the sanctions registry publicly available, which is what we are saying is needed.