Evidence of meeting #86 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 boxing.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
I'm sorry, but I have a point of order here.
I think that's time.
4:40 p.m.
NDP
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Thank you, Mrs. Thomas.
Mr. Gobeil, I would like to know what the team did when.... You were injured. They didn't notify the school.
When they became aware of all of those things, what did the team do for you?
4:40 p.m.
Health Coach, As an Individual
Yes.
To be truthful, nothing, really. I came back and learned from a Twitter notification that I was traded. I guess that became the problem of the new team that I was traded to, but nothing was ever addressed to me.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much.
Now we will go to the second round of questions. It's a five-minute round.
I will begin with the Conservatives and Kevin Waugh.
Kevin, you have up to five minutes, please.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Welcome, everyone.
Mr. Lindsay, what is your budget that you get from Sport Canada, from the government?
4:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Boxing Canada
I haven't seen details of the updated new round of funding, but I believe it's about a million dollars.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
At a million dollars a year, you would be one of the smaller NSOs out of the 62.
You see, this is my problem with the whole system, if you don't mind me saying. You have no money to fight anything. I'm sorry. You're in the bottom half of the NSOs. You're screwed. You have 121 boxers complaining, and you have no money to help them out. I've seen this with three-quarters of the sports out of 62 NSOs.
We were lucky. We got Hockey Canada here and we got Soccer Canada here, because they're the two biggest. Beyond that, you're in the bottom half and no one could care less about boxing until there's shit that happens, and that's what's happened here. This is where I'm blaming Sport Canada. It should have been flagged long ago. Funding should have been stopped. They don't do anything. They're like Christmas. They just hand out cheques and never follow up. This is a problem with this Liberal government. This is the problem with the sport ministers they have had and continue to have. Nobody follows up in Sport Canada. There are no consequences. I saw it when they were here. They have no recollection. They don't have to answer to anybody. It's disgraceful.
Sport Canada could have stopped this long before we lost Daniel Trépanier. This could have been stopped. We had one of the athletes here in April talking about this. This could have been stopped long ago, but Sport Canada is the problem. OSIC will follow Sport Canada and do nothing. You had to sign on because you needed the million dollars, or you probably wouldn't have signed on in late May. You were forced to.
What is your view? You're just getting into the chair, unfortunately, but you know where I'm coming from with Sport Canada. They don't flag a damn thing. That's where the problems exist with Hockey Canada and with Soccer Canada and, unfortunately, with the little sports like yours—boxing. You haven't had success at the Olympics, and funding doesn't come with that.
I want you to comment on the problems we've had with Sport Canada in this country.
4:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Boxing Canada
I find it difficult to comment specifically on the problems that boxing has or hasn't had with regard to oversight from Sport Canada. However, accountability in our sport system is critical, and the work that Sport Canada has done in order to move OSIC is a step in the right direction.
I agree with the honourable member that if we had more money, as a small sport, we would be able to do a better job of protecting our athletes and, I would hope, of being able to support them and to provide greater opportunities for them to reach their ultimate potential.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
I'm surprised because you can't even afford the third party.... Hockey Canada had gobs of money and their third party was Henein Hutchison. You have ITP. What are you paying them? Nowhere near Henein Hutchison, I would think, so of course you're not going to get the report back.... You're paying them next to nothing. You only have a million dollars in your budget for the entire year. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that you have little or no money, so of course ITP isn't going to come forward right away with a report for you.
I've seen this with third parties. We never hear a damn thing. I'm still waiting for the London, Ontario, police report from Hockey Canada—five years this month. How long is it going to take boxing to hear back from ITP on your third party investigation? How long?
4:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Boxing Canada
My understanding is that they have wrapped up their investigations and are currently putting the report together for us, so I would hope that it is shortly, sir.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK
Could you share that with this committee then? When you receive the report, as Boxing Canada, would you be willing to share that with us?
4:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Boxing Canada
I would have to look at the terms of the agreement that our board signed with ITP. However, my understanding is that our board, like me, feels that a policy of openness and accountability is important and that whatever results we get out of the ITP report on the culture of our sport will be shared to the best of our ability.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much, Kevin.
I now go to Michael Coteau for the Liberals.
Michael, you have five minutes, please.
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Coteau Liberal Don Valley East, ON
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I want to take a moment to thank all of the witnesses for having the commitment and the courage to be here to talk about some of these issues that I know are very personal.
We know from the witnesses who have come in over the last several months that this is not a Sport Canada issue. This is a systemic, historical issue that has spanned decades in this country. For the vice-chair to say that this comes down to money simply is not the truth. It's a systemic issue that's deeply rooted in many of our sports cultures in this country—through the organizations but even beyond that. To simply say we need to spend more money to find a solution, I don't think is a real approach to dealing with these systemic issues.
I think the study we're doing today and the openness to major reform by the minister are the types of things this committee and the minister can do going forward to shed some light on these issues and to look for ways, through our study, to position some solutions for systemic change in sport.
I want to start off with Ms. Taylor.
I was reading through some of the documentation and there was a term that was being used, “garbage bag treatment”. Can you talk specifically about this term and how it impacted your family?
Next I can maybe turn it over to the two players to talk about that term and shed some light on the treatment of players.
I'll go over to you, Ms. Taylor.
4:45 p.m.
Player and Family Ice Hockey Advocate, As an Individual
When the team decides that they're going to trade you or they're going to hang on to your rights and put you down with the farm team or the level below you, they don't let you take their hockey bag. They give you a garbage bag. It's called the garbage bag treatment, because once you leave that team, you're garbage. It's as simple as that.
4:45 p.m.
Player and Family Ice Hockey Advocate, As an Individual
You're treated like garbage. It's almost an analogy for what they think of you when your time with the team is done. You're not good enough to take their hockey bag with their logo on it, so you—
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Coteau Liberal Don Valley East, ON
Are you literally saying that you cannot take a bag, like physically take a bag?
4:45 p.m.
Liberal
Michael Coteau Liberal Don Valley East, ON
Wow. You're saying that after years of commitment—it could be months or it could be years of commitment—to a team, which in many cases profits off your effort, your blood, sweat and tears, literally, you're saying that the dignity is not even provided to the player as they are traded to another team to leave literally with their hockey bag?