Evidence of meeting #81 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 athletes.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Tim Louis Liberal Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
That's perfect.
We hear time and again that we want to nurture and protect our children. We want to give them that opportunity to grow and succeed, like you mentioned in your opening statement.
At the same time, there's a culture of creating athletes and pushing them to be elite. It starts at a young age.
Can this model be done in a balanced way? How can we strike that balance? You mentioned in your words not just winning, but “winning well”.
Chief Executive Officer, Own the Podium
Certainly, we're redefining excellence as we speak.
What does excellence mean to Canadians in the high-performance sport context? Behaviours that were acceptable 15, 10 or five years ago are no longer acceptable.
We've also introduced a new initiative focused on professional development and leadership development of national coaches, so they are able to coach more effectively in today's high-performance sport landscape.
Liberal
Tim Louis Liberal Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Thank you.
Maybe I'll turn to Ms. Dawson or Mr. Luke from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.
Knowing that sports are multi-jurisdictional, what's the best way we can set up a pan-Canadian approach that can also work with provinces and territories to handle abuse in a coordinated manner?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
One of the approaches we've been working on in Canada relates to values-based sport. It relates to trying to instill values within sport at all levels and in all jurisdictions.
Maybe I can turn it over to my colleague Karri Dawson to walk you through that.
Karri Dawson Executive Director, Values-Based Sport, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
At CCES we use an approach called “true sport”. I believe the committee has heard of it before. It's our approach to values-based sport. It's an approach that is underpinned by a set of common values and principles that were chosen by Canadians. This dates back to the early 2000s. We did some public community research and found out that 80% of Canadians thought that sport was this wonderful, valuable public asset that could do all kinds of great things for our kids in communities, but fewer than 20% of Canadians thought that sport was living up to that potential.
We set out and talked to Canadians across the country. They chose the values of fairness, excellence, inclusion and fun as the four values to underpin. We developed a program called True Sport, with a variety of tools and resources that we take out to everything from communities to provinces and territories to national sport organizations. It's applicable to all sports at all levels.
In 2018 we had the opportunity to do another tour in partnership with the Public Policy Forum, called the “values proposition” symposium. We recanvassed Canadians around the shared set of values and principles and whether they were still relevant. We found that they were.
We're seeing that it is a good way to have system alignment to have a shared set of values and principles that underpin the sport experience, so that you can model the behaviours and expectations of everyone who has a part in the sport system.
Liberal
Tim Louis Liberal Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Thank you. That was fantastic. You gave such a thorough answer, you answered the next three questions I had.
Liberal
Tim Louis Liberal Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Maybe I could go to you, Mr. Croteau. You mentioned the role that money plays. How important is financial transparency with sports organizations?
Executive Director, Sport'Aide
Regarding the importance of financial transparency, I think the decisions announced last week about greater accountability are essential. We applaud those decisions.
As far as governance is concerned, our understanding is that there was already a governance code in the works, so that is not necessarily something new. Obviously, we are very pleased to see that people understand how important it is, because it's essential. Those currently in office must be aware that the decisions they make or don't make impact people in the sports community.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you, Mr. Croteau, and thank you, Tim.
I will now go to the Bloc Québécois.
Monsieur Lemire, you have six minutes, please.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I just want to say how amazed I am to see how far we've come in the year since I moved the motion to invite representatives of Hockey Canada to appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. I want to take a moment to thank all my colleagues and the witnesses.
I feel that people are hopeful and want to make change happen. I see evidence the will is there. Having said that, one of the ways to make these changes a reality is to have an independent public inquiry. Representatives of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport have said as much.
I'd like you to explain to us how this inquiry should be set up and what it can change, at this stage, so we can act on the recommendations and make the changes we would like to make in sport.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
A national independent public inquiry could lead to real system-wide change within the sport community. Our hope for that inquiry would be to identify the root causes that are leading at a system-wide level to the maltreatment we're seeing in sport; to produce a series of recommendations, as we saw in the Dubin inquiry, that are system-wide and that deal with alignment issues, jurisdictional issues and expertise in treatment; and to address the need for resources to be able to implement those recommendations in a meaningful way.
That would be the hope.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
At this point, what are we risking if we don't hold an independent public inquiry? Why is it urgent?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
I think the danger of not holding an independent public inquiry is that the initiatives we're implementing today, even the ones that were addressed by the minister last Thursday, are not informed by a thorough investigation that identifies system-wide issues. They're ad hoc in measure. That ultimately might lead to us being back here in three, four or five years, continuing to deal with this issue, whereas an independent public inquiry can really identify the root cause situation that's leading to these issues and set us up for success in the long term.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
You're right.
I'd like to point out that many athletes and groups of athletes have repeatedly and urgently called for just such an inquiry on social media.
Now I have a question for Mr. Croteau from Sport'Aide.
First of all, thank you for your leadership, foresight and long-standing commitment to safe and healthy engagement in sport.
I'd like to know your thoughts on the independent public inquiry, given that you're in Quebec. I'd like to know how the federal government and the provinces can find common ground through an independent public inquiry. Obviously, that can create tension. How do we make sure we set up a solid foundation for the inquiry to cover all sports organizations, from Timbits to the podium, as you put it?
Executive Director, Sport'Aide
The first thing we need is an openness and true willingness to collaborate. The colour of the jersey should not be a factor. We are all here to promote a positive experience for our young athletes. No political or territorial issue justifies us not working together for this. Thousands of young people are here today, but many leave, which could turn into a big problem later. We need the young people who are here today to continue to invest in themselves and get involved in our sports communities for many years.
I am appealing for openness and true collaboration. That is the most important thing.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
In the context of this study, what sources of irritation or what friction between the federal government and the provinces might we see? What recommendations would you make for us to be able to move forward?
Executive Director, Sport'Aide
The first thing that comes to mind is part of the announcements made last week by our minister: the arrival of a registry. At Sport'Aide we commend this initiative. From day one we have been shouting from the rooftops about the need for a registry of people whose behaviour is unacceptable, but back home in Quebec we were told that is impossible. We were very pleased with last week's announcement. It is a clear example of the main challenge: back home we are told it is impossible, but I do not think it is impossible.
Three or four weeks ago, I found out that France has this kind of registry. The French worked together. They decided to do this and it did not take decades, it took a few years. They were willing to collaborate. That is what I am appealing for.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
The Sport'Aide model is innovative and changes things in Quebec. We do not see this model in the other provinces. What advice would you give to the other provinces? Can the Sport'Aide model be exported? Could you provide a helping hand on that?
Executive Director, Sport'Aide
Our message from day one at Sport'Aide at various times and whether to Sport Canada or the different provincial bodies or national federations that appeal to us is that we would be happy to be used as a carbon copy to speed up the process in other places. Everyone tells us that in five years, we have done tremendous work. I am not saying that to blow my own horn. I am just making a comparison to what is being done on the outside. We would be happy to help other partners speed up their process. For example, Sport New Brunswick reached out to us recently. We are absolutely prepared to work with other partners.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
I have one last question about the importance of protecting victims who report abuse to you. What is the process? How can we help and support them?
Executive Director, Sport'Aide
There are two things. Just as we do back home we need to assure them of full confidentiality. In the different interactions we have with these people, we need to constantly remind them that there is no shame in asking for help. We regularly need to remind them that there are services to help them and that they should use those services.