Recently, the federal sports minister called on all provinces and territories to have a centralized sport policy, as is the standard set in Quebec. We are proud to be setting the pace for Canada, and through our lived experience, we hope to help other provinces do the same.
Over the last two years, in Quebec sport and leisure, ALIAS has received and managed over 500 complaints. We have established a standard of initial contact within 48 hours of a claim's being received, and within 10 days of receipt, we analyze and confirm a claim's eligibility. For the complainants, this gives them comfort that their matter is being addressed and taken seriously. For the organizations involved, this ensures that they are on top of the issues happening amongst their stakeholders, with best practices to resolve these.
In the brief on safe sports submitted by ALIAS to the Canadian heritage standing committee on March 22, 2023, we put forward recommendations that summarize the three following principles.
One is the standardization of process. As is done in Quebec, each province can and should have a centralized policy and process for complaints, case management and case follow-through. The execution must be done by a qualified multidisciplinary team.
Two, programs must be built for scale without compromising quality or confidentiality. Given the importance of each individual report, the program must be built to ensure that each intake is treated expeditiously with care and confidentiality. There must be no degradation of quality based on scope and scale.
Finally, communication is key. This means communication of the mechanism itself, so that sport stakeholders know how and where they can make a report; ongoing communication with the person who has filed the report; and ensuring that all stakeholders involved throughout the reporting process remain informed.
In closing, as leaders in safe sport in Canada, it is our responsibility to contribute to the efforts to put an end to the toxic culture of silence. By offering a voice for victims and stakeholders in sport, we are sending a powerful message that any form of unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated. With sport being such a central fabric to society, the government's interest to promote best practices in reporting acts of wrongdoing will have a major impact on the lives of Canadian citizens.
We thank you for your time and attention.