Canadian Heritage Committee on Feb. 16th, 2023

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I call this meeting to order. I would like to acknowledge that this meeting is taking place on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

Welcome to meeting number 66 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Today, as you all know, we are holding the meeting in a hybrid format pursuant to the House order of Thursday, June 23, 2022.

While public health authorities and the Board of Internal Economy no longer mandate mask-wearing, I again would like to tell everyone that based on the fact that the World Health Organization still considers it to be a pandemic, for your own safety and that of others, I hope you will consider wearing a mask, specifically in rooms that aren't ventilated.

I now would like to take this opportunity to remind all participants of this meeting that you are not permitted to screenshots or photos of the screen. The proceedings will be made available on the House of Commons website.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Tuesday, September 20, the committee is meeting to continue its study on safe sport in Canada.

All of you in the room here know how to access interpretation. For those of you who are attending virtually, there's a little globe at the bottom of your screen. Please press it to access interpretation via that method. Thank you.

Today, for the first hour of this meeting on safe sport in Canada, our witness will be from the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. We have Sarah-Ève Pelletier, the sport integrity commissioner, by video conference.

Ms. Pelletier, you have five minutes to present. When you have 30 seconds left, I will say “30 seconds”, because sometimes if you're reading something you don't get to look up and see a little flash card showing that.

I'd like you to begin now, please. Welcome, Ms. Pelletier. You have five minutes.

Thank you.

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier, Commissioner, Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Committee members, like all Canadians, I was horrified to hear so many stories of abuse in sport.

I sincerely thank you for your ongoing concern about this critical issue. I would also like to acknowledge the important work of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women and its study on women and girls in sport.

What gives me hope is seeing the widespread commitment to doing better by our athletes and our youth, and ensuring that changes are made so that Canadians at all levels can experience sport in safe and welcoming environments.

I have no doubt that the work of these committees, thanks in large part to the many athletes who have shared their knowledge and their experiences, will result in valuable and concrete recommendations. I look forward to learning from these studies. My intention today is to provide as much information as possible in order to help in our shared effort to make sport safer.

The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner began its role eight months ago to administer and uphold the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport, or the UCCMS. There are 53 federally funded sport organizations that have now signed up with our office, and 36 of these are effective today.

Athletes and others are now able to safely bring forward complaints of maltreatment and discrimination against participants under the authority of signatory organizations and to be heard by trauma-informed experts. Each matter being investigated is looked at by independent professionals with combined experience in human rights, sexual violence and working with children and minors.

We have admitted 100% of the cases that fall within our jurisdiction. Concretely, this means that 17 matters are currently progressing and being investigated by independent professionals. As an outcome of these cases, sanctions could and will be imposed against individual participants who have committed violations, and those sanctions are directly enforceable.

Also, recognizing from day one in this office the importance of addressing systemic issues and ensuring organizational accountability, we developed and launched an assessment process to look into sport organizations. This will lead to publicly available assessment reports. Also, to help foster meaningful implementation, a follow-up monitoring report will later be published to track the changes the organizations make after the assessment.

It is, of course, essential that organizations act on the recommendations they receive, but we hope these public reports will be tools that increase accountability and equip others, such as funding partners in sport, to take appropriate measures in response to the organization's actions.

As we continue building our foundations, we are conscious of current structural limitations of the OSIC. Let me provide a bit more context for those. Of course I'd be happy to answer any questions in more detail.

First, the UCCMS clearly identifies the need for a publicly searchable registry of sanctions so that people who are sanctioned can no longer move from one jurisdiction to another. The OSIC has the mandate, and it maintains a sanctions registry today, but due to current privacy law across various jurisdictions, there are challenges in making information publicly available. A possible solution to that could be for a public sanctions registry to become statutorily mandated.

Second, participation in an OSIC investigation cannot currently be compelled for those individuals and organizations that have not signed on to the UCCMS. As some groups have suggested, subpoena powers for independent investigators and assessors could make for a stronger and more robust complaint and assessment process.

Third, beyond the OSIC, to effect systemic and sustainable advancement of safe sport, it is paramount to have a harmonized system of rules that pertain to maltreatment and discrimination and a trustworthy means to address issues across all levels and through all structures of Canadian sport. There should simply be no gap preventing people from getting help or creating loopholes for those looking to cause harm. Similarly, prevention and education need to start from coaches, parents and youth at the grassroots level where they get their start in sport, so that they know their rights and know their responsibilities. Across the board, safe sport knowledge needs to be as fundamental as technical skills and the rules of the game.

The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner continues its mission to advance safe sport for all, and we are committed to implementing the recommendations of the current studies, which will define our role in continuing to advance this important priority.

I have been competing in sport for 17 years. I made lifelong friends and learned valuable lessons that still serve me today. It has become very obvious that I am privileged to have had the positive experience that I have had. It is tragic that so many young people in Canada have not been so lucky. We urgently need to eliminate abuse in sport with these people in mind. Sports, when done properly, have so many positive benefits to offer. That's why I think it's so important that we listen to their stories and their collective voice and work to make sport safer for all Canadians.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much. Now we're going to go to the question and answer part of the meeting.

I would like, however, to ensure that the committee.... I know you know, but I want to remind you that we are dealing with very sensitive issues here. I would like to remind you that we shouldn't be naming names or trying to revictimize anyone whose name is out there. We need to be very sensitive to the nature of what we're doing here and very careful about how we deal with some of these issues. I know you know that, guys. I am not telling you that you don't; I just want to make a reminder here so that we know for sure that we're going to be sensitive.

Thank you very much.

I'll begin the first round, which is a six-minute round, with the Conservatives and Kevin Waugh. Kevin, you have six minutes, please.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Pelletier, and congratulations. You've been on the job now for about seven or eight months.

The term “harmonized safe sport” has been used lots by you. The problem in this country is that the provincial governments haven't signed on, so you're not representing everybody in this country through OSIC and the UCCMS.

In fact, the Minister of Sport had to go to the Canada Winter Games this weekend in the Maritimes to talk not only to athletes but to the provincial bodies because they haven't signed on to OSIC. This is an issue.

We've spent $16 million over three years to form OSIC, and yet, to my knowledge, we don't have—other than Quebec, which started one in 2014—any provincial governments to date that have signed on, unless they have in the last 48 hours or so.

Can you comment on the issue of safe sport when the provinces and clubs have not signed on?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Thank you for your question and your comment.

We know that participants, youth and people in Canada enjoy sport at all levels of participation, but most enjoy sports in their communities, in their clubs. This is under the jurisdiction of the provincial or territorial bodies. To make sure that the issue is tackled, and to make sure that there is sustainable change....

I also want to say that there's an urgency to act on it, because one case of maltreatment is one too many. This simply has to stop. This simply has to go away from sport. For it to be true, it needs to impact all levels, all structures of sport. It doesn't matter how sport is organized; it cannot be used as an excuse not to address the matter. The matter needs to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed so that everyone who participates in sport has the same rights and responsibilities and also has access to the same ways—or at least, as you said, harmonized services and ways—to address their matters.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

My recollection would be that OSIC really looks after 3,700 or 4,000 athletes. You don't have control of the provincial governments.

I would think that the sports minister should have had this dialogue a year ago with every sport and territorial sport body in this country. We are in dying hours, and all of a sudden she's going to the Canada Winter Games to have this discussion when really eight months into the job.... This should have been done a year ago. I'm just floored.

I've talked to my people in my province. They're not signing on to this, and Saskatchewan is not the only province. We only have Quebec. They signed on their own, back in 2014. There is a huge gap with your organization, just a huge gap. Eighty per cent of the athletes in the country aren't covered, because you're only covering 3,700 to 4,000. You're talking about the NSOs; you're not talking about provincial or club sports, which is a huge gap in OSIC.

It needed to be corrected long ago, but here we are. You have 53 NSOs signed on. You're still short of a capacity, but we don't have any provincial dialogue, which is essential to make this sport safe in the country of Canada. If it's not going to be at the provincial level, this is a dud of a program, if you don't mind my saying so.

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

You're correct. Our jurisdiction and the contractual mandate we received from the federal government extends to federally funded sport organizations and, as I said today, we have 53 organizations signed on and we're adding new ones every day.

As you mentioned, there is urgency to ensure that there are harmonized rules and harmonized systems in place for victims to safely turn to at all levels of sport. The services of the OSIC are available for those provincial and territorial organizations or decision-makers if these are the services that respond to their respective needs.

As you have mentioned, Quebec and—as I also want to cite—New Brunswick have a system in place as of today, and I understand that other provincial and territorial authorities are also very actively looking into this situation. Of course, I cannot speak on their behalf and, from my perspective, from an OSIC perspective, there is urgency around it.

Our mandate will be most effectively fulfilled when there is a complete system and there are no gaps in the system, whether it be through OSIC or through other harmonized places or forums that we can engage with and collaborate with towards the same mission to make sport safe.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Ms. Pelletier, I'm very disappointed in the Minister of Sport. It's been all talk and no action, and now, at the 24th hour, she decides that it needs to be addressed. Going to the Canada Winter Games and talking to the provincial bodies should have been done long ago.

Here you are, and you have $16 million over three years to act under OSIC. That's fine for the NSOs, but nobody is worrying about the clubs. Nobody is worrying about provincial bodies in this country.

Okay, you have New Brunswick signed on. That's a new one. Congratulations, but where are the rest? This is the gap that people in my country, my province and my city are talking about. This is where it starts, and we're so far behind in this.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Kevin. That's it. You've just reached your six minutes.

I'm now going to go to the Liberals and Tim Louis.

You have six minutes, Tim.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

As you mentioned off the top, there may be people listening to this public testimony on this study who could be affected, and I understand the need not to retraumatize them. In my riding of Kitchener—Conestoga, if there's someone who needs support, there are two organizations in my region. We have the Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region. Help is out there.

Ms. Pelletier, thank you so much for being here. It's very appreciated.

I understand that the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner is the central hub for Canada's new independent safe sport program, and I'm pleased to hear that the mandate is to independently receive and investigate allegations of abuse and code of conduct violations.

For those listening, some of the mandate is to provide safe spaces for athletes to have their voices heard in a non-traumatic way; to launch independent investigations; to recommend sanctions against individuals—which you mentioned off the top—who are found to have committed violations; to receive reports about violations through a confidential online platform, which is very important; and to offer education and prevention tools and resources, including mental health and legal aid referrals.

You know personally how great sport can be. It gives kids confidence, helps them achieve goals and learn life skills. As parents, that's why we're encouraging our children to get involved in sports. Every parent should be able to feel confident that their kids are safe.

Given the concerns in sport that we're hearing about in studies like this, what message would you like to give to those parents? What needs to change at all levels of government? How can that system be strengthened so that every child can have the same positive experience that you've had?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Thank you very much, and I want to say that as a young parent myself, I share the same concern as all of the other parents in Canada.

My advice would be—for anyone, regardless of the hat we're wearing in the Canadian sport system right now—that there is an opportunity to make sure that we focus at all levels and, right now, on prevention and education.

Knowing our rights and knowing our responsibilities in whichever capacity we play is not a guarantee, for sure, but it is one thing that I believe every parent can start doing by asking questions, being curious and trying to understand, so that they can be there to support their child in their journey in sport and to make sure that their journey is as positive as it should be.

In terms of the things that need to happen, I did mention education and prevention. We can have all of the means to address issues of maltreatment once they have occurred, but what we really need to face together and what we really need to tackle is to make sure that those incidents or instances don't happen in the first place. There are a lot of things that can be done and should be done to achieve that, but prevention and education need to be one of them. That needs to be at the core.

Prevention and education cannot be something theoretical. It needs to be concrete. It needs to be something that is living and breathing in every training venue, in every sport and in every club, in every place where sport is coming to life, because this is truly how that transformation will happen and will be sustained.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

You mentioned in your opening statement about safe sport knowledge and that we need this grassroots-level support. What resources and tools, prevention tools and resources, including mental health and legal aid services, do the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner need help with right now?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

We talked about the complaint management services of the OSIC being restricted or somehow limited in their jurisdiction. I want to use the opportunity to clarify that any work being done in terms of prevention, education, sharing of resources, sharing of best practices and policies is for the benefit of the entire Canadian sport community.

We're working with research programs. There's a research grant program. There's an education accreditation program. Above and beyond what the OSIC itself is doing, there is tremendous knowledge through academics. There is tremendous knowledge through those who provide education to really leverage that collective effort and engagement toward prevention and education.

I want to make sure that this is a place where there's an opportunity for the OSIC to disseminate...to propose education and resources in an area where we strongly believe that there should be some investment. We've invested ourselves, but there's so much more that needs to happen there from us and, we believe, from all levels of sport.

You mentioned mental health and legal aid programs. These are services that are provided for people who engage in our processes. I was pleased to hear you mention other resources at the beginning of your remarks. We also want to make sure that we provide access to resources that may exist outside of the OSIC. We facilitate access to those resources, whether they are in the community or elsewhere, for people who need them when they engage in a process with us.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Finally, with the half-minute I have, only 4,000 athletes fall under federal jurisdiction. The signatories for the national sport organizations are there, but the provinces have yet to step up. Are they saying they don't want to step up? What is their hesitation, provincially? At the end of the day, we're trying to protect our children.

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

I want to say that everyone shares the same desire to make sports safe for everyone, but I cannot speak on behalf of the ministers and the authorities at the provincial and territorial level. There are some who have engaged with us and would be interested in using OSIC's services; there are others who have existing systems in place or are looking for the best way to address the situation. I just want to say that there's urgency to act, from our perspective.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Mr. Louis.

Now we go to the Bloc Québécois and Sébastien Lemire.

Sébastien, you have six minutes, please.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I thank all the members of the committee for welcoming me and allowing me to participate in this important study.

Ms. Pelletier, thank you for being here, and thank you for highlighting the work of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. In fact, you participated in their important study.

Everyone agrees that your organization meets a need. That said, I feel a bit like you're building an airplane in mid-air, without necessarily having made a diagnosis.

You spoke about the limits of your mandate with commendable humility. When it comes to sports, wouldn't it be appropriate that there be an independent public inquiry, to make a real diagnosis and to have recommendations on how to improve the situation?

I feel that the sports world is downright sick. Martin Leclerc's article this week, and previous articles by Rick Westhead and the media as a whole, tell us that things only move forward when the media raises cases that have taken place in the sports world.

I want us to give you the best means to succeed, but I feel that a real diagnosis should be made if we want to change things. The world of sport is sick, but putting a band-aid on it is not the way to cure a cancer and fix the situation. We need to know the situation in depth to be able to propose real measures.

Don't you think an independent public inquiry would help you have a solid foundation and take real action to transform the world of sport?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Thank you for your question and comments.

In a sense, by recognizing the urgent need to act, the commissioner's office has, over the last eight months, built a foundation on a very solid footing. However, given the sense of urgency, it is true that we have started to fly the plane while we are still building it.

Our office was established following a number of consultations, spanning several years, which highlighted existing problems. We therefore have the task of responding to an already known need.

That said, our office welcomes any opportunity and any initiative to make the world of sport safer and to provide much-needed support to athletes. You mentioned a public inquiry. For our part, we are interested in the recommendations of the various committees, in order to find the right way forward in this regard.

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

Thank you.

May I reiterate my confidence in your work and in you personally for the position you hold.

In a way, the questions are about understanding the limits of your mandate so that we, as legislators, can help to improve them.

First, do all sports organizations that manage high performance athletes have to register with the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, or OSIC?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

At the federal level, all sports organizations that receive funding from the federal government are required to register with OSIC. As I understand the warnings from the minister, national sports organizations have until April 1 to register, or their funding may be cut.

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

An offending organization with greater financial means could decide to bypass the OSIC.

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

I am not sure that it is necessarily a good avenue for any organization not to offer an independent complaints handling mechanism to its members; nor is it a good idea not to offer its members and the public it has a duty to protect a robust system that will allow their sport to be played in safe and favourable conditions.

As for the consequences that go beyond the boundaries of our office, it would be better if these questions were posed directly to the federal government.

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

Are you confident that 100% of the organizations will register by April 1?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

In our opinion, it is important to have the most complete system possible, and as quickly as possible. I very much want that, because it will increase our effectiveness in dealing with the problem.