Thank you, Madam Chair.
Members of the committee, my name is Yann Bernard. I have been president of the Canadian Fencing Federation since 2020 and a member of its board of directors since 2018. I am also vice-president of the Pan American Fencing Confederation and vice-president of the Alliance francophone d'escrime. I am accompanied, via videoconference, by John French, vice-president of our federation, and David Howes, our executive director.
I started fencing in 1984 at the age of 12 and have been Canadian champion and vice-champion on several occasions. I was selected as a member of the junior national team several times and have represented Canada internationally at the senior level. On numerous occasions, I have also acted as an athlete representative within the federation, on the Canadian Olympic Committee and at AthletesCAN.
Fencing has always been a part of my life, bringing me joy, sadness, personal success and lasting friendships. It has also helped me through what I consider some of the hardest times an individual has to endure.
I am a lawyer by profession and, for the past 30 years, have essentially practised in the fields of education and amateur sport as a legal adviser, barrister and solicitor for private colleges and school boards. I specialize in labour law, particularly disciplinary and human rights and freedoms cases. I have also worked for many stakeholders in the world of amateur sport, particularly athletes, sport federations, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and the World Anti-Doping Agency. Lastly, the Canadian Olympic Committee honoured me by appointing me to the Canadian team's ombudsman at two Pan American Games and three Olympic Games, in Vancouver, London and Sochi.
Protecting the rights of students, athletes and the people they associate with has thus been a central feature of my professional life. That's all by way of introduction.
I want to thank you for the opportunity you have given us to participate, to the best of our ability, in the important work you are doing for amateur sport. To begin with, I would simply and humbly say that the impression that emerges from the sometimes disturbing testimony that I have heard, and from current discussions in the world of sport, is that a review of the situation of amateur sport is necessary in order to build or rebuild adequate trust among the various stakeholders.
The ambient negativity and suspicion that currently prevail are untenable, and the truth must be restored. As to whether this review will have to be conducted by the courts, an expert panel or another structure, that will obviously be up to you to decide. However, it seems clear to me that it will have to focus on much broader matters than the current situation regarding safety in sport because all of these matters are related. The interpersonal relations issues and problems that follow therefrom, particularly misconduct and other, even worse behaviour, cannot be isolated from other fundamental issues such as financial resources, the availability and attractability of morally sound and competent human resources, competition culture and society's general expectations of young athletes and those around them.
We have long known that there is no point in addressing bad behaviour and crime in society without considering all contextual information regarding the economy, culture and education. Why then would matters be different for amateur sport? I therefore believe that the issues you are addressing here are crucially important but that this is only part of the equation and that we will resolve nothing in the long term unless the best possible individuals examine the situation as a whole and have the ability to get to the bottom of things.
Thank you. Before answering your questions, more specifically on the situation of fencing, I want to let my colleague John French say a few words that, I think, accurately reflect our federation's position.