It's a good line too.
We know that government has been listening too. In 2019, the ministers endorsed the “Red Deer Declaration for the Prevention of Harassment, Abuse and Discrimination in Sport”. Following a series of pan-Canadian sports summits, the UCCMS was released. Fast-forward to 2022, and OSIC, an independent arm of the SDRCC, has been launched to administer the UCCMS.
These swift actions show that the government has been listening and helping, but more needs to be done, which brings us to the renewal of the Canadian sport policy. In February 2022, the Canadian sport policy and work groups contracted SIRC to help endorse and find information about the next policy. Since then, more than 5,000 Canadians coast to coast to coast participated in 28 engagements, and an e-survey available in English, French, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun was held.
We heard from Canadians that sport is an integral part of health and culture in Canada. Sport was described as important for physical, mental, emotional and community health. It was considered an integral part of our national fabric, a fabric that holds and brings us together. Over and over, we heard about the importance of sport as a driver of healthy active lifestyles that connect to enjoyment and to Canadian culture.
We also heard that to create these benefits for Canadians, sport needs to be safe, positive and values-based. Values and ethics came up as the top-rated priority for community sport for 53% of survey respondents. Values and ethics were also among the top three priorities in competitive sport, with athlete development topping the list at 68%. Respondents also expressed widespread concern over the perception of the “win at all costs” culture that puts athletes' performances ahead of their health, safety and well-being.
This is all very important as it goes forward, and the participants emphasized that safe sport requires more than developmentally appropriate and technically sound programs. It requires a focus on mandatory safe sport training and anti-racism and cultural awareness training for everyone in sport. Here, we stress “everyone”, meaning the participants, the athletes, the parents, the coaches, the officials, the administrators and the leaders. That was loud and clear: It was everyone.
In addition to education and accountability, the launch of OSIC was very important. There's a clear need for messaging, resources and uniformity across the system.
The Canadian sport policy consultations indicated a clear desire to see Canada as an international leader in safe sport, so what can government do? We need to start by listening to Canadians, especially our survivors. We need to collaborate and make safe sport a government priority, and we need to fund sustainable programs to promote safe sport at all levels of sport. Education and awareness initiatives, supported by data, are needed to change behaviour for the benefit of everyone in sport.
Thanks for listening. We want to help.