Evidence of meeting #44 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.
12:50 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, ITP Sport and Recreation Inc.
I'm uncertain at this point. I don't know enough about it.
12:50 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada
I would say my only condition is.... The commission is going to take several years, several months—the Dubin commission took more than a year and a half—and in the meantime, victims need to have a place to go.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
I'll tell you why I'm concerned.
You spoke about how your organization, the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre, is an alternative dispute resolution, and as such allows for cases to be heard quickly, not being tied up in courts and human rights tribunals, but it's clear that it's not working. We hear time and time again that athletes do not feel they are getting justice.
Would you agree with me that the system is currently flawed?
I ask that because you're also in the midst of all of these allegations coming out, and they're quite serious allegations. Your organization is asking for broader jurisdictional powers and funding. It's not working, but you want broader jurisdictional powers and funding. Is that clear?
12:50 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada
I disagree that it's not working. It just started six months ago. It hasn't been tested yet. In design, there are flaws, and they've been highlighted here. I spoke to them in my five minutes. We need help to make sure—
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
One of the flaws that's very clear to me, and I say this with all respect.... We're here. We're trying to figure out how to protect kids and athletes from abuse. Something that's becoming very clear to me is the lack of distance among all the people involved in the final decision-making.
I have a question for you, Madame Forsyth, on things that have been brought up that I'd like to give you an opportunity to speak to. I want to be really clear that I acknowledge your own personal lived experience. I'm just trying to understand what's going on.
Does your organization advise the national sport organizations on their safe sport policy?
12:50 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, ITP Sport and Recreation Inc.
Yes. We have two separate divisions to our organization. One is prevention and one is complaint management. I work on the prevention side.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Okay, you advise the NSOs on safe sport. Do you also conduct investigation on the report of abuse?
12:50 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, ITP Sport and Recreation Inc.
No. We don't do investigations.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Okay.
Then this is a concern, right? What many athletes are saying is this: They need their own independent resources and an independent body. What I'm noticing is that many people who are involved in this system, which is clearly broken, work for both. Everybody's kind of working together. There's no separation. There's not enough separation.
12:50 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, ITP Sport and Recreation Inc.
I don't want to get this too nuanced, so please stop me if I get too nuanced.
There's complaint management and then there's what I do, which is prevention and education. Yes, I go into an organization. Yes, I go into Canada Soccer. I work with them to make them better and stronger and identify structural, environmental and behavioural risks for abuse, but we—
12:50 p.m.
NDP
12:55 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, ITP Sport and Recreation Inc.
I don't work for Sport Canada.
12:55 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, ITP Sport and Recreation Inc.
I go into national sporting organizations.
12:55 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, ITP Sport and Recreation Inc.
Do things better—yes.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
I don't want to question your intent. I believe you have lived experience. You want to see a better system, so I want to be really clear here.
You go into Sport Canada and you tell them how to do things better, but at the same time—
12:55 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, ITP Sport and Recreation Inc.
Well, let me clarify—
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
—you are also working with victims, or do you not work with victims at all?