Evidence of meeting #47 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.
Chief Executive Officer, Gymnastics Canada
Mr. Bard was not at the Tokyo Olympics.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Mr. Moss, what is the most upsetting to me, is that yet again, we get the impression that you didn't seek to get to the bottom of the problem and that more time was spent covering up and protecting the image of Gymnastics Canada, rather than really trying to defend the victims. That is the impression we get from your organization.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
Excellent. Thank you so much.
We're now going to go to two and a half minutes for Leah.
Leah, you have the floor.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Thank you so much, Chair.
I'll go back to you, Mr. Moss. I'm very happy that you do support a judicial inquiry, because the more I hear, the more I think it's necessary.
Going back to Mr. Bard, it is deeply troubling to me. I understand that you maybe can't disclose what he violated, but in a TSN article on August 15, 2022, you said:
This decision is as a result of both formal and informal complaints that I have received over the past two weeks in respect to Alex's behaviour in his official capacity with Gymnastics Canada; the nature of these complaints is consistent with issues that we have discussed with Alex in the past—
It was over two weeks before, obviously.
—and, it appears, our efforts to caution and educate him have not worked.
What that tells me is that he's not able to be educated on appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, reminding us that very often we are talking about working with people who are underage.... Because of that, I would find that deeply troubling. Did you initiate a safe sport investigation in light of that information, yes or no?
Chief Executive Officer, Gymnastics Canada
I did not.
I believe you're referring to a confidential email that I provided to the board based on due process that I...accountability that I'm required to follow.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
You identified that there was a pattern of behaviour. You couldn't educate him.
With that knowledge, knowing that he would be able to continue coaching—because you said he continued to coach—why would you not feel it was necessary to conduct a safe sport investigation of a coach who had demonstrated a pattern of troubling behaviour without any sort of rectification of that behaviour?
Chief Executive Officer, Gymnastics Canada
Beyond a code of conduct complaint, there was no formal complaint in place with regard to his behaviour. He is a coach who has a great level of technical expertise, but has not necessarily adjusted to some of the behavioural—
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
He had technical expertise, but maybe not social expertise.
Would you agree with that? Answer yes or no.
Chief Executive Officer, Gymnastics Canada
At some point, it came to a point where we felt that it was not appropriate for him to continue on in his contractual role.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
Thank you so much.
We have six minutes left. Of those, three minutes will go to Anna and three minutes will go to Marc Serré.
Anna, you have the floor.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm going to address my question to Mr. Moss again. I'm going to read something for you, and then I'm going to ask a question.
CBC has learned the current CEO of Gymnastics Canada once promoted a coach to one of the highest positions in the organization despite having received complaints alleging inappropriate behaviour.
CEO of Gymnastics Canada, Ian Moss, allegedly knew of concerns about well-known and well-respected coach Alex Bard before he named him to run the country's women's...gymnastics program.
Alex...was one of Canada's most respected and well-known gymnastics coaches. But several people say the former national team coach was also known for...inappropriate actions that included behaving abusively toward female coaches and kissing, touching and stoking fear in young gymnasts.
My question to you, Mr. Moss, is this. Do you have any children?
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
If this had happened and one of your children came to you and explained this, what actions would you have taken?
Chief Executive Officer, Gymnastics Canada
I would have moved forward with a formal complaint.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Why wasn't that done?
Are you telling me that these gymnasts were not telling the truth? You're making them sound like they're making up stories. That's not the case. The case is there were several allegations. There were not one or two, but several.
Chief Executive Officer, Gymnastics Canada
There were several allegations. That's the point.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Earlier, you said that it was a misdemeanour, for example, and it wasn't a huge thing, but now we hear differently. I don't know what the truth is.
Can you help me understand that?
Chief Executive Officer, Gymnastics Canada
Absolutely.
I said earlier, at the front end, that we have a process based on policies and procedures and a fair and equitable process for everybody who's underneath those policies. As such, we deal with complaints as they come forward. Ultimately, that's—
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
Obviously, this complaint was neglected, because these athletes were not taken seriously. From my point of view, we failed them.
You're the CEO, and you failed these young athletes.
I don't know, as a parent, how I could possibly allow this man to continue coaching and jeopardizing our youth. I just don't understand it.
Chief Executive Officer, Gymnastics Canada
With respect, we have to do due diligence in terms of facts. It's as simple as that.
Conservative
Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON
You said earlier, when I questioned you, that it was really nothing to investigate—