Thanks for inviting Gymnastics Canada to attend this meeting. I'm here to answer any questions the committee members may have as truthfully and openly as I possibly can.
We are deeply committed to support and advance recommendations that will help to make sport safer and more inclusive and equitable. While the focus of this committee is on girls and women in sport, the comments I offer are focused on the importance of creating an environment and culture that will positively impact all participants.
I have been working in sport since 1990 in a variety of roles. I share this because I have witnessed many attempts to modernize our fractured and outdated sport system over the last three decades, with limited success. In my opinion, until the system itself is modernized, we will continue to react to the emergence of new issues rather than proactively creating a solid foundation that's designed to mitigate risks related to safety, cheating, poor governance and maltreatment. We can't have good sport without modernizing the system, and for this reason I believe we ought to focus on modernizing the systems and structures that underpin sport.
Recently there have been calls to hold another Dubin-like inquiry. It's important to note that Dubin himself articulated that it was less about dealing with doping as a singular issue, but rather to address the moral crisis affecting the health and vitality of sport. He argued that sport required society to examine the values attached to the sector. Sport is now grappling with a more insidious moral crisis that would benefit from a re-examination of the root causes that continue to give rise to unethical conduct. Unless we address the root causes, more issues will continue to surface, and the sport system, as depleted and disconnected as it is, simply cannot bear the load of increased expectations as society continues to shift. We must modernize the system.
Gymnastics Canada has been one of the sports that have been at the centre of the safety in sport crisis. As with any issue, there are multiple perspectives and complexities that far exceed my capacity to articulate today.
The recently released McLaren group review of gymnastics in Canada provides a detailed précis of not only the current challenges facing the gymnastics community, but also a way forward in our collective desire to foster a safe and welcoming culture. The report and ensuing recommendations help us better understand some of the current limitations while, importantly, offering structural, cultural, financial and operational considerations to effect meaningful and sustainable change.
We need to start measuring what matters most to our collective community. The current sport system has not kept up with the contemporary humanistic approaches that are required to thrive in our increasingly complex environment. Once we start to measure alignment with cultural values we will be in a better position to meet societal expectations.
I commend the committee for providing sport leaders with a platform to examine the many outdated practices and approaches in sport that have contributed to unsafe environments. I believe this is a much-needed conversation in order for our system to change. While uncomfortable, it's critically important for sport to shift into the 21st century if we are to ensure a safe, welcoming and thriving culture and environment for all participants.
Thank you, Madam Chair.