Mr. Speaker, earlier today, I required that Sport Canada forward the following statement to all national sports organizations:
Pursuant to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the position of Sport Canada is that sports organizations receiving funding from the government must not prohibit athletes who so desire from carrying the Canadian flag or the flag of a province or territory at a sports event, nor should it punish them for doing so.
The purpose of this statement is not to prevent organizers of international sports events from establishing rules and protocols that must be followed—