Evidence of meeting #43 for Status of Women 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.
5:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Coaching Association of Canada
Yes. Sports can add on requirements and professional development. The maintenance of certification is additional requirements. It's not a retaking of all of the content and curriculum that gave them the designation.
Much like a regulated profession, they have requirements to maintain their designation within their profession, which is not going back to their university curriculum, but rather enhancing their knowledge.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
5:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Coaching Association of Canada
We actually have a national database. If a person does not maintain adherence to that recertification, it actually shows up on their education transcript that they were certified but not renewed, which is what we would call that.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
Michelle Ferreri Conservative Peterborough—Kawartha, ON
As you said earlier, it's not mandatory, so there would be lots of people who don't have this anyway.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
Michelle Ferreri Conservative Peterborough—Kawartha, ON
If you have somebody who wants to report abuse, what's the procedure?
5:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Coaching Association of Canada
We are the education body, so while we do receive complaints, we actually don't have the authority through the education program to do anything. We try to pass people on to the responsible organization so that it is dealt with.
When an individual has the professional coaching or chartered professional coach designation, if there is a complaint, we ensure we try to investigate that to see if we need to remove that designation, but that changes with OSIC.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
Michelle Ferreri Conservative Peterborough—Kawartha, ON
Thank you very much.
I guess I would just come back to the great comment by Mr. Lemay about who's watching the watchers.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
Awesome. Thank you very much.
We'll go back to Jenna.
You have five minutes.
5:30 p.m.
Liberal
Jenna Sudds Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON
Thank you very much, Chair.
I'm going to direct my questions to Ms. Lafrenière.
First of all, I want to make sure I understand your involvement—or not—with the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner to date.
5:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Coaching Association of Canada
We are required, as per the contribution agreement, to become compliant. We've reviewed all of our policies and we will be signing on officially as of January 20.
5:30 p.m.
Liberal
Jenna Sudds Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON
How do you view those requirements and the establishment of OSIC in how you move forward as an organization? How does it impact you?
5:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Coaching Association of Canada
I think for us, it is a good process that gives us a body that informs us, if a complaint has happened, whether it's a registered coach. From our perspective, that is a really important step forward.
We don't employ coaches. We educate coaches, and we screen and register them, so that's where we have the ability to remove a coach from an “in good standing” status. There are very few coaches who go through that process. It's primarily our major games coaches.
I want OSIC to be established. Even if it's not perfect, as our athletes have described, it's a step, and we need an interim step to at least move us forward and give us some level of independence from the national federations to hear investigations or complaints.
5:35 p.m.
Liberal
Jenna Sudds Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON
Terrific.
Does your organization currently have a coaching registry?
5:35 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Coaching Association of Canada
We don't have a coaching registry. We have chartered professional coaches, and it's a back-end screening that we do for coaches who go to the Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, Pan-Am Games, and some national championships. Some sports require that screening. It's a screening, the mandated safe sport training, a criminal records check and two good references that we receive, and we provide that green light back to the Olympic Committee or to the national sport federation.
However, it is not widely used. Maybe it's 1,000 coaches. I want to be very transparent about that.
5:35 p.m.
Liberal
Jenna Sudds Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON
Why isn't it widely used? This is so I understand that piece.
5:35 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Coaching Association of Canada
It's because we've never had the buy-in of our partners to create a registry. A profession is typically regulated at the provincial level, so in that complexity of provincial/territorial regulation, a national registry is really hard to enforce.
5:35 p.m.
Liberal
Jenna Sudds Liberal Kanata—Carleton, ON
That's very interesting.
Maybe this is the last on this piece. As you move forward with your agreement with OSIC, as OSIC is established and is moving forward, if they have a complaint against a coach, what will you then do with that? What is the outcome, or what does that look like?
5:35 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Coaching Association of Canada
If we're informed, if we receive the final decision and the appeals process has been exhausted—because that is due diligence—if they were one of our chartered professional coaches or a registered coach, we would remove them from “in good standing”.
5:35 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
The clerk is letting me know that we have to end this very soon. We have three minutes left.
Andréanne, you have one minute. Leah, you have one minute, and then we'll be done.
Go ahead, Andréanne.
5:35 p.m.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Mr. Lemay, the federal government is currently reviewing its sport policy. We have alluded to other things that the federal government could do.
As representatives of more local entities, have you and your colleagues been approached about that policy, which the minister is to present in February? Have you been able to say your piece?
5:35 p.m.
As an Individual
No, not to my knowledge. I have not heard of any local association that has been approached about this, and I am actually involved in several sports.
On that subject, I would say this: if we want to achieve some success in Canada, and I think we have all the means to do that, we have to work together. Maybe the policy should not be presented in February; maybe, instead, we should take the time to consult our colleagues in the provinces and territories to determine what can be done as a team.
5:35 p.m.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Thank you again, Mr. Lemay.
I also want to thank you for raising the issue of the national women's handball team: those girls came to see me at my office to speak out about their lack of funding.
In the world of sport, there is real inequality among the various sports associations. I think that if we want to make a real change in the culture and give female athletes and girls back the place they deserve in various sports, we have to take a look at the issue of the inequality among the various sports in Canada.
5:35 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
That's perfect. Thank you so much.
Leah, this is your last minute of questions. You have the floor.