Status of Women Committee on Feb. 2nd, 2023

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

I am not.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

You are not aware of any allegations against you or the situation that occurred while you were the CEO at Water Polo Canada.

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

No.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

They were under your employment. Is that correct?

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

I'm sorry. I....

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Were they under your employment during your time at Water Polo Canada? Answer yes or no.

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

All three were.

Guy Baker was in my final year. Patrick Oaten—

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

You were aware of them.

Here's my next question. The plaintiffs are Sophie Baron La Salle, Katrina Monton, Stephanie Valin and other athletes who weren't named because of their fear of repercussions.

Were you aware of these allegations? Were they brought to your attention?

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

They were not. No.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

They were never brought to your attention between.... From what I understand, they were on the team from 2004 to 2016.

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

I left in 2013, so I know those athletes, but they did not raise those allegations.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

The lawsuit has nothing to do with you.

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

No.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Can I ask you, with the situation of these athletes coming forward, what could you have done as the CEO of Water Polo Canada to ensure that this doesn't continue in Swimming Canada?

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

To answer that, I think the steps we've taken at Swimming Canada are to provide an avenue for athletes to come forward to our independent officer.

To be clear, with our independent officer and some lessons that we've learned, our independent officer can execute policy without the consent of the board or executive management. They listen to allegations and complaints, and can invoke policy directly without having to come to the organization directly.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

I'm sorry. My time is limited, and I want to get to a very important part.

In a toxic environment like those we've heard of from many athletes, what would you say are the proper procedures to put in place to ensure the safety of all of the athletes under your jurisdiction?

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

Aside from education and prevention, which are both key elements, in terms of a response, it's having a place for athletes to be able to come and feel comfortable, feel safe and be able to speak and report. It's having policies, whether they're on investigations or disciplinary matters, and mental health services in a safe environment.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Can I also ask how much money you receive from the Government of Canada on an annual basis?

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

Swimming Canada receives roughly between $6 million and $7 million. However, many of those funds are heavily restricted to high performance and the high-performance program for events.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

These funds have never been frozen, as far as you're concerned. The government's never come to you and frozen any of these funds.

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

No.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

If the athlete is not a high-performing athlete, do you lose money?

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

That's not necessarily how it works. Funding is based on programs—

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

You just said that it's for high-performance athletes.

I apologize. I don't understand.

[Ahmed El-Awadi]

[Inaudible—Editor] the high-performance program.

The program is funded through recommendations and through presentations on the podium, and that money is then recommended to the Government of Canada.