No, you're not.
Evidence of meeting #73 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 soccer.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #73 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 soccer.
A video is available from Parliament.
4:10 p.m.
President, Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, As an Individual
We have a policy, and the reason we have the policy is for security and safety reasons, because the confederation has security and safety issues throughout our confederation. Unfortunately, not every country is like Canada—
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Madam Chair, the witness is now not answering the question. I would ask you to please instruct the witness, who may not understand that he is under oath before the committee whether or not he's taken an oath. I'm asking for a number. I'm not asking for anything else.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
We do not have a great deal of time, Mr. Montagliani. If the questioner asks you to give a concise answer, just please say the amount that he asked you for so we can move on.
4:10 p.m.
President, Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, As an Individual
Yes, Madam Chair.
The issue is that the organization that I am the president of has a policy with respect to not disclosing that number.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Mr. Montagliani, it has been reported that you earned $2 million from soccer in 2019. The combination of your roles at Concacaf and FIFA would lead to the assumption that you're earning a considerable amount of money from soccer, and on your comments about being a volunteer, you may well have been a volunteer, but it's led you into a very lucrative job at soccer.
You're refusing to say the number. I'm going to change positions.
Mr. Bontis, how much do you earn from Concacaf, now that you're on the executive of Concacaf?
4:10 p.m.
Former President, Canada Soccer, As an Individual
Madam Chair, I'm uncomfortable sharing that number for privacy reasons. It is correct that for the 11 years that I was at Canada Soccer, I was a volunteer, and for the time I've been at Concacaf, there is a stipend that is calculated by an independent compensation committee.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
It's been reported that the amount is north of $125,000. In any case, I am saying, gentlemen, that I will get back to this question, because I think it is relevant in terms of the amounts of money that you guys are earning versus what the women on the national team and the men on the national team are receiving from Canada Soccer.
Mr. Montagliani, you talked about the 2015 World Cup in your opening statement, and how this was the greatest World Cup.
How do you react to Hampton Dellinger, the Assistant Attorney General of the United States, who was appalled by Canada Soccer's behaviour over the turf war, in that this was the only World Cup ever not to be played on natural grass; it was played on turf. He said that reparation payment should be offered to the women athletes and that Canada should be eliminated as a candidate for hosting the men's World Cup because of its failure to properly host the women's tournament.
Why did you not allow natural grass to be used, and why did Canada Soccer refuse that?
4:10 p.m.
President, Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, As an Individual
It wasn't a decision by Canada Soccer. It was a decision by FIFA, which, at that point, allowed the World Cup to be played on either natural grass or artificial turf.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Mr. Montagliani, you're saying that it was a decision by FIFA, so FIFA ordered Canada to host this one tournament on turf, even though every World Cup before and after has been hosted on grass?
4:10 p.m.
President, Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, As an Individual
There were other world cups, mainly youth world cups, that were hosted—
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
I did not refer to youth world cups, Mr. Montagliani. I am talking about the men's and women's world cups.
You hosted the women's World Cup on a surface that no World Cup has ever been hosted on before or since, and now you have told me in your sworn testimony that FIFA told you to do it. Please produce for the committee the letter that FIFA sent to you or Canada Soccer ordering you to host the tournament on turf.
4:10 p.m.
President, Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, As an Individual
Madam Chair, the decision to host the tournament on whatever surface was a decision made by FIFA. Part of that decision was also a legacy decision in which 24 pitches were built in Canada, all turf, and are still being used by our community of footballers. The decision was made by FIFA.
4:10 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Again, I would ask you to please produce to the committee any proof that you or Canada Soccer have that FIFA told you to host the tournament on turf.
I am going to move now to Mr. Heffernan.
Mr. Heffernan, you were talking about the negotiating committee for an agreement that we'll be talking about a lot today, the CSB agreement. You said the negotiating committee had four limited things that it was told to negotiate. The agreement is multi-faceted, though, with dozens and dozens of clauses. Why did the negotiating team negotiate only four things?
You're basically saying that those other things were either forced on you or negotiated prior to the negotiating committee's being given the mandate. Please explain to me how the negotiating committee could negotiate only four parts of a very big, multipronged agreement?
4:15 p.m.
Chief Financial Officer, Canada Soccer
The committee came into form in December 2018. The discussions with CSB took place before that, over a span of a year and a half, and substantial parts had already been negotiated before the committee was given the task of—
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
That's what I was asking. Who negotiated the original parts of the agreement, not—
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
I'm sorry, Mr. Housefather and Mr. Heffernan, but you are now 30 seconds over time. Can you please give a three-second answer?
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
4:15 p.m.
Chief Financial Officer, Canada Soccer
There were a couple of times, as illustrated in the letter that was provided to the committee earlier today, which describes the different stages at which different groups of people were involved in it.
That's what I can say if I am to answer quickly.
4:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you.
Mr. Lemire, for the Bloc Québécois, you have six minutes. Please go ahead.
4:15 p.m.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I am first going to address Mr. Bontis.
Despite what you said in your preliminary remarks, there is a question I would like to address.
Christine Sinclair said that in the past, soccer players had no money, but the situation was the same for men and women. According to her, women players now have to fight for equal treatment. However, they are not bitter about the terms for the men's team and they believe the players have made huge gains for the national team athletes. The men also support their demands.
Mr. Bontis, we are talking about equal pay and, as we know, there is a significant discrepancy, but there is also a discrepancy when it comes to the right to play.
Why did you have the idea of creating a professional men's league but the women's league was not created at the same time as the men's? At what point did that occur to you?
We really get the feeling that the mindset at Canada Soccer puts women in second place, even when it comes to the right to play in a Canadian league.
4:15 p.m.
Former President, Canada Soccer, As an Individual
With regard to the issue of the men's versus the women's league; it's not men's “versus” or men's “or”. It's an issue of sequencing. In fact, as was testified earlier, the first investment that Canada Soccer made in a league was in the National Women’s Soccer League. For almost nine or 10 years, as I recall, we subsidized the compensation of our national team players in that league. That league occurred before the arrangement of CSB and the CPL.
Let me also clarify that Canada Soccer does not own, operate or run leagues. What we do is sanction leagues. Private investors come in. We have a minimum standard in terms of what is required to launch a league, and then there are investors. The sequencing is actually our investment in the NWSL for approximately nine or 10 years. Then the CPL came into play, which, yes, is a men's league, but that was also as a precursor for our bid to host the men's World Cup in 2026.
Then there's the opportunity we've found at Canada Soccer to now prioritize the development of a women's league. We appointed a head of women's professional soccer at Canada Soccer, so that she can liaise with private investors and so that there is a smooth transition to the sanctioning that will be necessary for the proposed new women's league, where there is one group of investors—one Project 8 group—that is expecting to kick a ball in a couple of years' time.
4:15 p.m.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
You talk about private investors, but we have the feeling that the profits are also private and the money in their pockets should have gone to the women's teams.
Mr. Montagliani, you said that we should look at the process. So I am going to look at the process.
When you had the "brilliant" idea of persuading the board of directors to strip Soccer Canada of its assets, you got advice from the American team.
Who advised you?