Evidence of meeting #80 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 board.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you.
I will go to the second questioner, and that's for the Liberals.
Anthony Housefather, go ahead for six minutes, please.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ms. Crooks, I want to start by thanking you for your enormous contribution to Canadian sports and to the Olympic movement for so long. I just want to ask a few questions, if that's okay, to clean up some things from last week's election.
First, can you commit that you will not terminate or sanction John Herdman or Bev Priestman in their roles, given that the men's team and women's team came out as being opposed to your presidency? Will you commit to not taking any vindictive action against people who were against you for the presidency?
4:50 p.m.
President, Canada Soccer
I work for every single constituent across the country, no matter how they voted. As you know, the elections involved a wide membership, including the provinces and territories, the MLS teams, the CPL teams, the coaches, the referees and the players. Perhaps there might have been different views, but this is no reflection on anyone in particular. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to give back, and I'll work for every corner of the organization, from the grassroots all the way up to our national teams.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Basically, you're assuring me that there will not be any retribution against anybody who didn't support you. Is that correct?
4:50 p.m.
President, Canada Soccer
There will absolutely not be. It's about building bridges.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
I know there was a bit of a controversy last weekend, when Stephanie Labbé asked you if you had been at that meeting that we've talked about at this committee. At that meeting, Mr. Bontis said, “What was Christine bitching about?” in reference to Ms. Sinclair. You said you weren't there. Are you confident that you weren't there, given that now Ms. Sinclair, Quinn and Ms. Schmidt have all said you were there?
4:50 p.m.
President, Canada Soccer
I checked my schedule, and I did not see a meeting matching the date when that call may or may not have taken place. For me it is really about respect. It's about respect for our players. It's about respect for everybody who touches our organization. That kind of language and that kind of tone when speaking with our players or anybody is something that I would never, ever condone.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
I believe, of course, Ms. Crooks, that you wouldn't. The question is that Sean Bawden, who was the lawyer representing Canada Soccer, confirmed by email for this video conference on Friday, January 28, that you would be one of the attendees. He did so only a day before the call. I think the feeling is that if you were there, why didn't you say something to Mr. Bontis? You're confident, even though the lawyer for Canada Soccer said you were going to be there and the players all remember you being there, that you weren't there?
4:50 p.m.
President, Canada Soccer
As I said, I checked my schedule and did not see that I had accepted an invitation to be on that call, but I stand by the point that the tone and rhetoric and language that were displayed to all of those players was totally unacceptable.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Also, Dino Rossi was elected to the board this weekend. Mr. Rossi is the commissioner of a CSB-owned league. Can you confirm to this committee that Mr. Rossi will be recused and will not be part of any discussions related to Canadian Soccer Business that Canada Soccer undertakes? Have you taken steps as president to make sure that happens?
4:55 p.m.
President, Canada Soccer
Governance, rules, following bylaws and following procedures are of the utmost value to this organization. Conflicts of interest are also a part of that.
As you know, Mr. Rossi, through the nominations process, did address this. My understanding, through our bylaws, is that anyone who has a perceived conflict would have up to 90 days to be able to remove themselves from that conflict, and if they have any other conflicts that may come up throughout the period of their term, every year they have to declare them.
Also, before every meeting, we have to declare our conflicts. I'm confident that any conflict anyone would have would be declared and that the person would recuse themselves from any matters pertaining to that issue.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Thank you.
My belief is that he should recuse himself. I just wanted to make sure that you as president were cognizant of that—
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
—because I think that Canadian Soccer Business is what I will be asking about in my next round, throughout the round. It's a very important issue.
To also clarify one other thing, we've had a whole succession of former Canada Soccer presidents—Mr. Montagliani, number one, and then Mr. Bontis now—who have occupied roles at Concacaf and FIFA. Do you occupy any roles at Concacaf or FIFA, Ms. Crooks?
4:55 p.m.
President, Canada Soccer
I have no role at Concacaf. For many years, I have been a member of the FIFA competitions commission, which looks at all the different FIFA-related competitions around the world. That's the only committee I'm on, and that is—
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Exactly, okay. Thank you.
There's a last thing I want to ask, because it has come up, and I want to clarify all of this before I get to my substantive round about Canadian Soccer Business. There have been allegations that Mr. Montagliani played quite a big role in this election—that he was making calls on your behalf to different provincial organizations. People have come forward saying that he was threatening that Concacaf and FIFA would leave Canada or would not support tournaments in Canada and other stuff. Did Mr. Montagliani campaign on your behalf at all? Are you aware of this?
4:55 p.m.
President, Canada Soccer
To suggest that I am in this role because somebody did something or said something, I think, is a real disservice, not just to me, as somebody who has been in this sport for a long time—
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
That is not what I said, Ms. Crooks. I did not say that. I want to correct that. I did not say that you were in this role because of it.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Anthony Housefather Liberal Mount Royal, QC
I'm saying that there was an allegation that this gentleman was campaigning for you and making threats. I want to understand. Did this gentleman do any campaigning for you?
4:55 p.m.
President, Canada Soccer
I do not understand that to be the case. Our members are the ones who vote for us in the elections.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal