Canadian Heritage Committee on April 16th, 2026

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Go ahead.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

The two motions you have received both have to do with sport. We know how big sport is. It comes under the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Perhaps there will be a standing committee on sport some day. Until that time, this committee handles it. Of course, I recognize a number of the faces here because we did a study together on safe sport.

The first motion actually follows up on that study and the report we tabled. It reads as follows:

That, following the tabling of the report of Future of Sport in Canada Commission, the committee invites Commissioner Lise Maisonneuve to appear for at least two hours, as well as the Secretary of State for Sport and the relevant public servants for at least two hours, in order to analyze the conclusions of this report which was tabled on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you.

I'll say to the witnesses that you are free to go. You can stay here if you like, but we are done with questions for you, if you have somewhere else to be. You're welcome to stay, if you'd like to follow this.

Mr. Myles, you had your hand up.

[David Myles, Liberal, Fredericton—Oromocto, NB]

Yes, I want to move a minor amendment. I move that the secretary of state come for an hour and that the officials come for two hours. I believe that it would be quite normal for the committee to do things in that way.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Mr. Lemire, the floor is yours.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

So are we proposing that we have a three-hour meeting, two hours of which are with the commissioner and one hour with the minister and the officials?

[David Myles, Liberal, Fredericton—Oromocto, NB]

No, I am proposing a two-hour meeting. One hour would be with the secretary of state and the officials and one hour with the officials. That would be two hours in total.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Agreed. That is what we normally do.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

So, is that a friendly amendment? Is that the right term?

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Okay. Is it the will of the committee to adopt the amendment?

(Amendment agreed to)

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Is it the will of the committee to adopt the motion as amended?

(Motion as amended agreed to)

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you.

The second motion follows up on the excellent work of Radio-Canada's Romain Schué and refers to articles published on March 26, 2026 that mention scandals, particularly financial ones, relating to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will soon be upon us in Canada. It reads as follows:

In light of the Radio-Canada investigative report on Canada's commitments to FIFA for the 2026 World Cup, particularly regarding secret demands such as the delivery of essential services and tax exemptions, and given the soaring costs, the committee invites to appear before the committee for at least one hour each, as soon as possible and before the first match of the competition is held in Canada: the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, officials from Public Safety Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Soccer Canada and FIFA; That the committee demands that all contracts signed by the federal government with FIFA, as well as an assessment of the costs of their expenditures in connection with this event, be disclosed to the members of the committee before the first meeting is held.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Mr. Myles, you have the floor.

[David Myles, Liberal, Fredericton—Oromocto, NB]

We had already agreed to do another study before the end of the year. We have studies up until the end of May.

In addition, all the information on the costs is public. This is normal practice. They are the same as the practices used for the women's World Cup last year. So I do not want to support this motion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

If there are no other comments, we can vote.

(Motion negatived: nays 3; yeas 2)

The motion is defeated.

That's all the time we have for today.

Thank you, colleagues.

The committee is adjourned.