Evidence of meeting #66 for Canadian Heritage in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was athletes.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
You have my respect, Madam Chair, and I know that you were generous in the previous round. I thank you for that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Next, for the New Democrats, Peter Julian will have six minutes.
Before we go on, we have an extra eight minutes beyond 5:30 for the committee to stay here and finish our work.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
That may be true, Madam Chair, but I am hoping to finally get home after three weeks and several failed attempts to get through to Vancouver. My flight leaves—
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Yes. I'd prefer that we not extend the time, if possible.
I'd like to thank our witnesses. Thank you for your very compelling testimony.
I have time for just two very brief questions and then I will be moving a motion. It is just because we have run out of time that I will have to do that during this questioning session.
Madam Fraser, my first brief question is to you. What would you advise the federal government to be doing now? We're talking about a national inquiry. A judicial inquiry is very important, but what things could the federal government be doing right away?
Author and Educational Consultant, As an Individual
Right now they need to look at why nobody is being held negligent when they're obviously breaking Canadian criminal law. I don't understand why that's not happening. That needs to be number one. That needs to be looked at very intensely.
Why are these individuals whom we all read about in the media every day...? You've heard many, many talks about it. It's the same thing with a priest in a church: He gets excommunicated. Really? Why is he not in jail? It's the same thing here. These people are committing negligence. They are not protecting the safety and lives of children. Why are they not being held criminally accountable?
I'd like to see a lot more of that and a lot less of our young people acting in such shocking, appalling, violent, sickening ways. That's at the hands of adults. You do not become an unnaturally abusive person like that unless you've been in a toxic masculinity environment. That's not natural. Why do we keep blaming the kids downstream and not the adults? That's number one.
Second, I know that a judicial inquiry takes time, but there is no reason we can't start right now in creating a body—independent from sport, school, church or whatever—that takes in complaints and addresses them and is made up of experts. They're experts in child abuse. That's all we need.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Thank you very much for those answers.
Madam Sandmeyer-Graves, I thought you made the link between gender equity and safety in sport very eloquently. The reality is that we are currently seeing an example of the lack of gender equity in sport. It's around the issue of the national women's soccer team and their treatment by Canada Soccer.
Do you see that as an example of why we need to ensure that safety in sport and gender equity are twin priorities to ensure overall safety in sports?
Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Women and Sport
Absolutely. I don't know if they're two sides of the same coin or how you might phrase it, but I think they're very much interlinked. In fact, gender-based discrimination is prohibited under the UCCMS, as are forms of racism and other forms of discrimination and harm that are directed at athletes and others within the sport system.
I think there is a risk of always conflating safe sport or unsafe sport with abuse, or with sexual abuse specifically, but really what we are talking about is creating environments in which people can show up as their full, authentic selves and feel psychologically and physically safe to be vulnerable, to put themselves out there, to try hard and to go for it in whatever way best suits them. When women are continuously devalued and told that they are worth less than men in many different ways, that does not create psychological safety. It opens the door to many other forms of abuse.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Thank you very much.
On that note, Madam Chair, I will now move my motion. It has already been distributed to committee members.
I move the following:
That, in relation to the study on Safe Sport in Canada, the committee schedule a meeting in March 2023 to study allegations of unequal treatment of the Canadian Women’s National Soccer Team and allegations of sexual abuse within soccer programs and to invite the current president and CEO of Soccer Canada to testify.
On that note, I think we all stand with Christine Sinclair and the national team.
I put forward the motion. If any member of this committee would prefer that it be a subpoena rather than an invitation, I am perfectly willing to entertain that as a friendly amendment.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
We are able to do so if we do not get a positive response from Soccer Canada.
Is anyone objecting to this motion or wanting to discuss it further? Is there unanimous consent?
Chris, you wanted to say something.
Liberal
Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON
We might want to add the subpoena to keep things moving along: Issue an invitation, and if it's not accepted, then subpoena.
To put a fine point on this.... I know Mr. Julian and I discussed it. There is an element of discrimination that goes into what we just talked about, in terms of the value. If we deal with an issue of labour versus a labour dispute—though discrimination is at the heart of it—are we taking away from what we're discussing everywhere else?
It's something we support. In order to expedite things, we should invite, and if that's not accepted, subpoena—and make sure that's right in the motion.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
For clarification, the term wouldn't be “subpoena”. The committee would be issuing a summons.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Perhaps it's just easier to invite, or, as needed, issue a summons to the current president.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
(Amendment agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Can we vote on the amended motion?
(Motion as amended agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
That is unanimously passed.
Thank you very much, Peter, for bringing this up, and to everyone for being so collegial about it.
Liberal
Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON
Very quickly, I have a point of order, Madam Chair, on your ruling with respect to parliamentary language.
I think it's something we might want to discuss further. We are going to be hearing a lot of things that are unparliamentary. My preference would be that we treat this like a court. If it's a quote or something heard, it goes into the record. Perhaps that's something we can discuss with the clerk later. If language is referring to an honourable member, it may not be parliamentary, but if we're trying to come up with recommendations and evidence, it may be something we need to hear and put on the record.
I understand we're running low on time, but it's something to discuss, going forward.
February 16th, 2023 / 5:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
One thing we need to talk about is.... It's not about whether it's unparliamentary; it's a public session. There may be children or others looking at this, because they play sports.
I don't know. That's something we can discuss in some form later on.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
I know that we made a request to receive the Minister of Sport and Sport Canada officials soon. They have postponed their appearance. I would just like to invite them to come to testify for at least two hours, and as soon as possible, so that we can talk about the preliminary directions and measures that they are going to put in place as part of the new Canadian policy to ensure safe practice in sport; we also want to hear about how the new policy will take into account the measures and practices that the provinces have put in place to do so.
It is important that this happen sooner rather than later, as once the policy is in place, it will be much more difficult to contribute to it.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Obviously, the minister and officials were invited, as a group, for two hours. It will have to depend on their availability. I hear you, Sébastien.
Go ahead, Marilyn.
Conservative
Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Absolutely, it depends on availability.
I'd rather see the minister and department staff before they put their framework in place. Otherwise, every time we ask a question, we'll just get, “Well, that's the reason we put this framework in place.”