Evidence of meeting #70 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 agreement.
A recording is available from Parliament.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
Yes, Madam Chair, thank you.
I don't know whether the discussion was disclosed at the board meetings, but there was no correlation between his appointment with Concacaf and his position as the president of Canada Soccer. Those are two separate—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much. The time is up.
I'm now going to move to Mr. Lemire.
You have two minutes, please.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you, Chair.
Can you provide us with details of the expenditures and revenues? I'm talking about the money that came in and how the money was spent on the Own the Podium program, particularly on the women's teams, which were funded, and the public funding that you received from Sport Canada.
Has Bob Birarda now been suspended for life because of sexual offenses committed within your organization?
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
Yes, Bob Birarda has been suspended post his conviction.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
In your 2018 to present financial statements, which by the way are very difficult to find on your website, Note 8 mentions a lawsuit filed by an athlete from Alberta.
Are you facing any lawsuits from athletes for abuse, mistreatment or any other reason?
Have you fulfilled your fiduciary obligations towards soccer in Canada and informed Sport Canada of this situation? If so, on what date and in what manner did you proceed?
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
I had a very difficult time understanding the beginning. It was a reference to a case in Alberta, if I'm not mistaken.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
In your financial statements from 2018 to present, there is a Note 8, which refers to a lawsuit from an athlete in Alberta.
Are you facing any lawsuits from athletes for cases of abuse? I'm asking because you said earlier that you were not.
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
I have no understanding or recollection of the case that is being referenced. I can certainly look into it and provide information to the committee on whatever I find.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Please do that, Mr. Cochrane. Please send it to the clerk.
You have 30 seconds, Sébastien.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
This is my last question.
We often hear about Canadian Soccer Business, which has a voice on your Board of Directors.
How independent is the Canada Soccer organization from Canadian Soccer Business? Does a member of Canada Soccer sit on the Canadian Soccer Business Board of Directors? Have you declared any conflicts of interest?
Liberal
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
I believe that Monsieur Bérubé is trying to answer, but he's on mute.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
I'm sorry, Mr. Bérubé, but we have now gone 12 minutes over. Please give a very short answer.
Independent Director, Board of Directors, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
I apologize. I will respond quickly.
There are no Canadian Soccer Business board members serving on our Board of Directors, nor are any members of our Board of Directors serving on the Canadian Soccer Business Board of Directors.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much. I will now go to Mr. Julian.
Peter, you have two minutes.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
We're getting information in as we speak, as we question you, that contradicts some of the testimony we've heard. I asked earlier about gifts to the board of directors. The response was no.
Can you confirm that over $11,000 was provided in bespoke suits to members of the board of directors, as reported by Rick Westhead on October 21, 2022?
General Secretary, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
Yes, the member is correct. In 2021, suits were provided to the members of the board of directors to replace suits that had been provided to them 10 years prior. For 10 years they had worn the same suit.
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Thank you for that. I have to move on.
We also talked about Canada Soccer's financial reports. Jay Fitzsimmons tweeted, “As a...soliciting non-profit corp, Canada Soccer must file financial reports, posted online via Corporations Canada. But the reports ain’t there.”
Hockey Canada had a similar situation. Like Canada Soccer, Hockey Canada is a soliciting non-profit corporation. Like Canada Soccer, its financial reports weren't posted on Corporations Canada until Hockey Canada came under scrutiny, and suddenly nine years of financial reports were uploaded at once, in October 2022.
As a committee, we would like to hear from Canada Soccer as to when it is going to post its obligatory financial reports. We would also like to hear from Canada Soccer about any other responses that have been provided but that have not been fulsome.
The reality is that Canada Soccer has a responsibility to be transparent. What I would suggest is that some of the contradictory answers and some of the stonewalling that we've heard today is not appropriate for Canada Soccer and for the hundreds of thousands of people who are involved in soccer.
You are accountable for transparency.
I hope that the next time representatives of Canada Soccer or people who have been involved with that organization testify before our committee, they will provide answers that are true, accurate and complete.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much, Peter.
We go to the Conservatives for four minutes.
Is anyone taking this?
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
Thank you, and thank you to the witnesses who are here. I appreciate it.
To follow up, in the sense that it has been questioned whether you approved this particular agreement, it has been stated numerous times that the March agreement wasn't an official agreement but that it was later in November. Do you have any documentation that can support your position versus the one that we have asked about here?
Independent Director, Board of Directors, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
I will gladly answer the question.
The agreement was unanimously approved by Board members on March 27, 2018, through a duly passed resolution. Furthermore, we requested amendments to the agreement, so it was conditional. At the end of it all, which was in December 2018, the Board members spoke informally, over the phone, and we were assured that the various requests that were made had been met. The agreement was signed on January 1, 2019.
In short, yes, the agreement was approved.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
Are there no formal minutes of a vote to approve it with the amendments you agreed to?
Independent Director, Board of Directors, Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Association
The vote took place on March 27, 2018. To my knowledge, there were no subsequent votes.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
You said that there had been a phone call agreeing to the amendments in December, but there are no recorded minutes of that vote, or there was no vote in December, just an agreement to those amendments. There were no minutes of a final vote on the amendments that had been agreed to.