Thank you for the invitation to take part in your study.
I apologize for not being in tiptop shape. I have the flu and have been in bed for two days, but, since the cause is greater than me, I've forced myself to be with you.
Thank you for your testimony, Ms. Forsyth. It's overwhelming every time.
Your committee invited me to testify on the same subject in 2016, when it was conducting a study on women and girls in sport. I've reread the 16 recommendations in the report that resulted from the study, and I frankly think that many of them can be included word for word in the report that will be prepared this year.
I agree with Ms. Forsyth and the previous speakers that progress has been made, and Ms. Asselin's presence here is proof of that. I acknowledge all the work she has done. However, I think many problems remain unsolved. In 2016, I pointed out two major levers, to which I would now like to return. Ms. Forsyth discussed the change of culture, among other things. This type of change takes time, but six years have already elapsed since the first report was submitted. Action has been taken as a result of it, and I thank former MinisterDuncan for what she has done. However, the following two problems still persist in sport in Canada.
First, there's a lack of accountability. Funding isn't always associated with accountability. If public money is invested in national sport organizations, they should be accountable. That's a necessary condition in ensuring that athletes are protected and women can advance. Some studies show that less violence is observed in those organizations when more women are in leadership positions. So accountability is a major lever. It is public money after all.
The other important problem is that funding is often, if not always, provided on an ad hoc basis. The former minister announced $30 million in 2018, and the present minister,Ms. St-Onge, has just granted an additional $26 million, but that funding is often associated with ad hoc measures. In recent years, national federations could request funding for projects related to gender equality and equity, but they were ad hoc projects. Once the projects got under way, no further funding was released and no more projects could not be proposed. Consequently, it's hard to establish a long-term vision and planning.
Here's an example that breaks my heart. Thanks to a $1.65 million investment announced by Minister Duncan, a research hub for gender equity in sport, called E-Alliance, was established in 2020, a first in Canada. It was a three-year project, but—you know how it works—we received the money two weeks before the end of the first year. Consequently, in reality, we had two years in which to operate. I was co-director of the hub, together with Gretchen Kerr and Ann Pegoraro. I'm no longer the director there because I now have the good fortune to direct a Quebec research laboratory for gender equity in sport. Funding for the Canadian hub terminated in March of this year, and we've received no new funding since then. So we essentially threw $1.65 million out the window, and all our efforts over two years to establish that important research hub to collect longitudinal data, ensure follow-up and expand knowledge were in vain. We don't even know what will become of the research hub, whereas it was the subject of a critical recommendation in the 2018 report of the Work Group on Women and Girls in Sport.
I have 30 seconds left. I had my stopwatch in front of me. I'm a sports girl, so I'm used to keeping track of time.
Simply put, there are two points to bear in mind. First, accountability is mandatory. Second, long-term funding is essential to better planning and to ensuring that initiatives don't fall by the wayside after a year or two without being followed up. Otherwise, we're just treading water and wasting time.