Status of Women Committee on Jan. 30th, 2023

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

I would agree that time is of the essence. The earlier a sport organization joins the program at a national level, the greater our ability will be to address cases that relate to participants under their jurisdiction.

To your point, we have received, all the way up to December 31, a total of 48 complaints. So far in 2023, we have had yet another increase in the number of organizations joining the program. We can already see the positive effect of that on our admissibility and the number of complaints we're able to look into.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Would you be able to break down those complaints by sport?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Yes, we can. We maintain statistics by sport and by other types of measurement, by type of maltreatment, discrimination or the type of behaviour that is being alleged.

Are you asking if I can...?

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Yes, the 48....

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Unfortunately, this would compromise the confidentiality of specific matters. We will be reporting some further details on an annual basis, but, again, those who come forward, the victims and the survivors, in sometimes very small sport environments, in order to protect their confidentiality—

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Thank you.

I'm sorry. I have 20 seconds left.

If you can, all the information that you could bring to us about the sports and the breakdown would help with our committee work, for sure. I don't want to break any confidentiality agreements, but I don't think it's a problem for our committee because, as the chair might interject, I think we'd be able to have that information.

I always find that confidentiality is what really protects these people who are doing harm to children. I don't think, frankly, that they should be able to hide behind confidentiality, because the kids need to have their say and be respected more than these people who are committing abuses against the kids.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thanks so much, Warren.

I will now pass it over for five minutes to Sonia Sidhu.

Sonia, you have the floor.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for your very important testimony.

My first question is for Madame Pelletier.

We have heard about the importance of independence during this study, and a registry or database for individual sanctions. My colleague has already mentioned that. A database of individual sanctions for maltreatment should be developed. What are your thoughts on this recommendation for a registry? Can you clarify that?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Yes, we support it, and we strongly believe that a national registry of individuals under sanction is needed. That needs to be a registry that is publicly searchable. As of today, our office has a mandate and maintains a sanctions registry. That said, there are challenges in terms of making the information in this registry publicly available, because of the current privacy legislation across the various jurisdictions.

Again, this is definitely something we're actively working on. We may need some help to make it happen, but this is definitely something that is part of the objectives of the UCCMS and of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you.

Can you explain the steps of OSIC's complaint intake process? How are athletes supported through this process? Can you explain this step by step?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Athletes, survivors and people who come forward can access both legal aid and mental health referral before, during and after they've gone through the complaint management process.

The entry point to the complaint management process is often the Canadian sport helpline, a dedicated helpline meant to accompany and provide information to those who simply need to know where to go and if the OSIC is an avenue for them.

There is support in place. I want to say that this is definitely something that we are looking to expand and improve so we can truly accompany the individuals who come to us and ask for help.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

How are the investigations helping trauma-informed individuals?

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

Trauma-informed care is essential in everything we do. It starts from the moment we engage with individuals and at any point in time.

In terms of our investigations, they are performed by independent professionals. They bring experience from human rights, sexual violence, and dealing with children and minors. Some of them have experience in sports, and some don't. All of them have both experience and specific training to ensure trauma-informed care in everything they do.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Thank you.

I'm wondering if you can expand on why two-thirds of the cases referred to OSIC are inadmissible.

[Sarah-Ève Pelletier]

There are different reasons.

The first reason could be that the matter submitted to us doesn't relate to maltreatment, discrimination or another behaviour under the UCCMS, which is our jurisdiction.

The second reason could be that the organization impacted is not a signatory to our program. That being said, as we've discussed in the previous question, we are seeing fewer of these occur, because the number of organizations joining has increased significantly.

The last reason is one that refers to some existing gaps. For example, if an organization has joined but the participant impacted by the allegation is a coach in a local club, it may not mean that today this coach is under the authority and jurisdiction of the national organization. As such, they may not fall under our jurisdiction.

However, as I said, even if that's the case, we're going to try to find ways that we can help to provide resources through our program or otherwise for the people who come forward with their issue.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

You have 10 seconds.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

I'll pass. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much.

We're now going to pass it on.

Andréanne, you have two and a half minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'm going to get straight to the point, Mr. Moss, because I don't have much time.

Unfortunately, I am starting to understand why you are against holding an independent inquiry. You weren't even able to do a thorough job in the case of coach Bard, who was accused of multiple instances of sexual assault.

What kind of message in terms of impartiality and independence do we get when the same lawyer is representing your organization, Gymnastics Canada, and a coach who stands accused of multiple sexual assaults?

Mr. Moss, you do understand that there is nothing independent and impartial here. What impression do we get when it is you yourself who questions the victims to see if their complaint is admissible or not?

Wouldn't that process be somewhat intimidating and again, show a lack of impartiality and independence on your behalf?

[Ian Moss]

Gymnastics Canada is in support of a judicial inquiry. We have never not been in support of it.

We've been in a situation where we've had to take action very quickly because there was no other opportunity for others to be engaged, and that's what we've done. From that point of view, we fully support the role of a judicial inquiry into the overall review of the sports system.

Mr. Bard to date has not been, to my knowledge, accused of any sexual assault or any allegations of that nature.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Have lawsuits been filed against yourself by staff members within your organization?

Have any staff members filed a lawsuit against you during your mandate as director of your sport organization? If so, how many lawsuits are there?

[Ian Moss]

To my knowledge, there are no cases.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Did the coach accompany minors during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games?

[Ian Moss]

I'm sorry. Which coach are you referring to?

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

I was talking about Mr. Bard, who went to Tokyo despite being accused of committing the assaults. Did he accompany minors at the Tokyo Olympic Games?