Canadian Heritage Committee on Feb. 16th, 2023

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Madame Pelletier, what started our inquiry were the absolutely horrendous allegations coming out of London in 2018, and how Hockey Canada tried to sweep those horrendous allegations under the carpet.

If you received a complaint like that today, how would your office deal with it? You're aware of some of the horrendous details. How would your office respond in a way that respects the victim and ensures justice is obtained?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

You mentioned respecting the victim and the trauma someone may have gone through—survivors, victims or witnesses. This is at the core of what we're meant to do. I want to emphasize this point: No matter what we do or how we do it, it has to be with a trauma-informed approach and an ethic of care that appreciates that experiences of harm are diverse. There needs to be very careful attention put on that, in every corner.

I cannot speculate about a hypothetical scenario, but Hockey Canada is indeed a signatory organization. The UCCMS contemplates a wide range of contexts in which the code is in effect and the obligations apply. I'll cite section 4.3 in particular. I'm sure I won't have time to explain, but I want to cite section 4.3 at least, because it speaks to the breadth of the context in which jurisdiction can be asserted vis-à-vis the program signatory organization and the participants under the authority of that organization.

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

Thank you for that answer. If you could provide further information to the committee, I'm sure it would be helpful.

I have two short questions to finish.

First off, Volleyball Canada is the only organization that has signed on at the national, provincial and club level, as I understand it. What has Volleyball Canada done that other sports organizations aren't doing?

Second, how many Canadians have you reached out to and contacted in terms of your prevention and education program?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

In terms of Volleyball Canada, we definitely applaud the proactive approach they have taken to engage with their member organizations and participants at all levels to make sure that from their perspective, there is no gap. That is one possible avenue, recognizing that each sport organization has a different constituency and things in place, but regardless of whether it's through OSIC or otherwise, the important thing is that any member, at all levels of participation, is under harmonized rules and has a safe place to go.

I'm sorry, but I missed the second part of your question. My apologies.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I'm sorry, but I think the time is up. Maybe Peter can get to that question a little later on, or maybe someone else might want to pick it up.

I will go to the Conservatives for five minutes. Martin Shields, please go ahead.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's good to see you here. Thank you.

Ms. Pelletier, it's great to have you here. You have a wealth of knowledge and a very short term.

You have 53 funded Canadian organizations in Canada. You have 36 signed up. There are still 17 sport organizations missing. In the registration process, is there a cost to these organizations? How do they get registered?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Yes, there is a basic cost, and then there's a cost that applies for every organization. This is information around the financials that was provided for the study on women and girls, and it can also be provided to this committee, as it could be helpful for you to have this information.

I just want to clarify that this information would be provided by the SDRCC, which manages these aspects. It's managed independently from the OSIC. Once an agreement is in place and in effect, organizations and their participants can have access to the services of the OSIC, which is the part that I can speak about.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Okay, I got that.

However, you have 17 that are missing. If money is a possible issue, could that be a barrier to their joining?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Oh, when you say 17 are missing, we have those 53 organizations signed, and 33 are effective. The 33 effective means it's a population of the 53 that have services in effect today. Organizations have the choice, basically, to use what we call the transition period before the services become effective. It's not because they haven't signed and it's not that they haven't committed to the financials; it's more that they are using that transition period to put the policies in place that are required.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

That's not clear in the information you have. It looks like there's a gap of 17 that are missing. I'm just suggesting that....

In the funding piece, when you say funding may, there's the word “may”. They may not be funded. “May” is not “shall”.

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

For funding questions, because those are measures that pertain to the Government of Canada, I think it would be better to get that clarity on exactly what happens with the funding on April 1 through the federal government directly.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Okay.

The word “voluntary” has come up a lot of times. When we're talking about a registry, is it going to take national legislation to get a registry in place that really makes a difference?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

We are open to avenues that will get us there as quickly as possible.

Again, we understand that the model that has been adopted in the United States with the U.S. Center for SafeSport was made possible because it was statutorily mandated. Of course, we would love to get the help of this committee through its recommendations to see what possible avenues there are, whether it be through the Physical Activity and Sport Act or otherwise. From what we have observed, this has been an effective avenue for the United States.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Are you recommending that we would suggest that as a recommendation?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

We want to recommend that there be a sanctions registry that is publicly available as soon as possible.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Statutorily...?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

I'm not sure it's my position to say how that can be achieved, but I look forward to hearing the recommendations from the committee.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

I think you've danced around that, but I think you pretty well have said that.

You were talking about the number of provincial organizations. From what we've heard, the minister is out there doing a sales job. Are you doing a similar sales job in trying to convince provinces to join?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

What I'm aware of is that in terms of providing an explanation or information about the abuse-free sport program, those at the SDRCC have been active and engaged with provinces and territories for many months now. I understand that some of these conversations are also progressing on our side, because we manage the services once they are in place. We have been vocal, I believe, in speaking about the gaps right now and the urgency to fill those gaps.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

I'm guessing that's why you're taking a proactive approach. They're missing. It's a gap.

The other one is the clubs. How are you going to get the clubs involved?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Our perspective is that there is an ability through the provincial-territorial systems to reach the clubs directly. In terms of the system in place in Quebec, as one example, one system that encompasses all clubs and all participants in the province has been created. Of course, I believe they would be better positioned to speak about their own model, but I understand that it covers all clubs. It covers all provincial organizations in a harmonized and unified manner.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much, Martin. That's it.

I will now go to the Liberals and Lisa Hepfner. Lisa, you have five minutes, please.

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Thank you, Chair, and thank you to Ms. Pelletier for being here to answer our questions today.

I think we've covered a lot of these issues already. A lot of my questions have already been covered by my colleagues.

First, I'm wondering if you could go into more detail about this database and how it would work. If we were to have a mandate, what exactly would that look like? I know that you didn't really want to opine on that, but from your perspective and in your experience, ideally how would this work?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Thank you for the question and the opportunity to provide a little bit of what that would entail.

From our perspective, a database or a registry of individuals who are under sanctions is a means for administrators in clubs who are looking to make hiring decisions. It's a means for parents who are looking to sign their kids to a club. Sport is practised through the federated system, but it also touches even the school system. There is sport participation in schools and things like that.

People who are participants in Canadian sport, in the absence of something like a public registry, could navigate through gaps in the system. Whether they move within the strict lines of sport or to where they can use their skills and perpetuate harm, the goal of a public registry would be to avoid that. It would be a tool that empowers Canadian society as a whole. We think it's a matter of public interest to ensure the safety of our youth and the safety of our children. The best way to achieve that—with rigorous standards, of course, in terms of the information that finds its way there—is to make sure that once individuals are under sanctions, according to a fair process, there is a way for people to know about it.