Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise and participate in the debate on Motion No. 466, which asks the government to continue to engage in the anti-doping movement and encourage other nations to ratify the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport.
The Government of Canada is determined to protect the integrity and values of sport, the athletes and the spirit of sport so athletes can compete fairly and equitably at all levels of competition.
Canada remains a leader in the global fight against doping. Our government is determined to support UNESCO in its efforts, in partnership with the World Anti-Doping Agency and other countries, in advancing the values of fair, ethical and doping free sport.
In Canada we support ethics in sport and continue the fight against doping through the Canadian policy on sport and the Act to Promote Physical Activity and Sport.
Canada has acquired these basic tools. Our government works in close cooperation with provincial and territorial governments and the Canadian sport community to implement the Canadian policy against doping in sport as well as as the Canadian strategy for ethical conduct in sport.
It goes without saying that the Canadian anti-doping program is respected around the world and serves as a model for nations undertaking to eliminate doping in sport.
The International Convention against Doping in Sport, developed under the UNESCO physical education and sport strategy and program, is the result of concerted efforts between countries and the sport movement, with the common objective of promoting the prevention of doping in sport and the fight against this phenomenon in order to put an end to it. The convention is a recognized international mechanism for harmonizing government anti-doping measures, in particular by supporting the World Anti-Doping Agency and recognizing the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code.
In November 2005 Canada became the second country to ratify the convention. Our country is proud to have played a leading role in its development and adoption. In fact, I can recall when I had the privilege of pairing with a Liberal as he went to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia when this agreement was being forged by the nations of the world and how impressed I was at the dedication of all the nations that were there to get this agreement together.
Since then, we have encouraged all countries to accept or ratify the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport and to give even greater impetus to international government participation in anti-doping. To date, it is encouraging that 79 countries have accepted or ratified the convention. I believe it our duty to encourage all countries to do so.
In 1983 Canada already had a UNESCO anti-doping policy. That policy evolved over the years to reflect the perspectives of partners in the national and international sport community. As the House knows, the Dubin Commission was established following several international doping cases involving Canadian athletes.
Prior to 1991, national sports organizations were responsible for conducting anti-doping analysis in accordance with standards laid down by the Preventive Medicine Council of Canada.
In 1991 the Government of Canada established the Canadian Anti-Doping Agency, an independent, non-profit agency responsible for directing Canadian efforts in the field. The agency was created in response to the recommendations of the Dubin Commission, its mandate to shed light on the use of drugs in sport.
Today the Canadian Centre for Ethics Conduct in Sport administers the Canadian anti-doping program. Canadian athletes who take part in college, university, national and international competitions, as well as the Canada Games must comply with the full provisions of the Canadian anti-doping program.
Our government funds nearly 85% of the centre's operating expenses. The difference is made up through the services the centre offers at Canadian sport competitions and to other anti-doping agencies.
In 2007-08, our government gave more than $4.6 million to the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport to carry out the Canadian anti-doping program. An additional $700,000 was granted to it under the true sport strategy.
Like UNESCO, Canada acknowledges the importance of continuing education for athletes, athlete supervisory personnel and society as a whole in order to prevent doping. The Canadian program attests to this.
In 1999 the International Olympic Committee, supported by a number of government agencies, governments including that of Canada, and public organizations established the World Anti-Doping Agency to promote and coordinate international anti-doping. In 2003 the agency and its partners, including Canada, developed the first world anti-doping code document containing a set of harmonized rules for anti-doping in sport.
Canada has supported the efforts of the World Anti-Doping Agency since its inception and proudly has had its headquarters in Montreal since 2002. The agency's work and credibility are helping make the most renowned and international competitions such as the Olympics and Paralympic Games examples of dope-free competitions.
Our government is proud that Canada recently renewed the partnership with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which will enable the agency to keep its headquarters in Montreal for another decade.
Canada is also proud to be home to one of the 33 laboratories around the world accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The laboratory of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique of the Université du Québec à Montréal conducts analysis and offers consulting services to anti-doping agencies, including the World Anti-Doping Agency, and major professional sports leagues.
Our government proudly provides $1 million in financial assistance to the World Anti-Doping Agency. In addition, our government, through the Department of Canadian Heritage, has allocated nearly $900,000 to the World Anti-Doping Agency's operating budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
The Olympic movement also pays the agency an amount equivalent to that provided by government authorities.
Canada's contribution to anti-doping and the UNESCO convention also included $90,000 in financial support to the UNESCO Secretariat for the convention's development. In addition, Canada was the first country to contribute to the voluntary funding created when the convention came into force. Canada has contributed nearly $149,000 to the fund in the past two years. The fund will make it possible to develop and implement anti-doping programs concerning, among other things, resource development, the sharing of knowledge and best practices, and international education.
Thirteen countries have followed Canada's example, as a result of which the fund now contains nearly $1.2 million to assist in developing the less developed countries. For Canada this is an act of solidarity that reinforces anti-doping in sport.
The convention also confirms the common practice of funding the World Anti-Doping Agency through equal funding from governments and the Olympic movement. Canada contributes annually, and its contribution is one of the biggest of any country.
In conclusion, through its programs and sustained financial support, Canada is clearly showing its commitment to anti-doping in sport. UNESCO can rely on Canada's full cooperation so that the largest number of countries in the world accepts the International Convention Against Doping in Sport. Even though 79 countries have accepted or ratified the convention to date, we must continue our efforts to encourage non-signatory countries to accept or ratify the convention soon and to implement it without delay.
Canada is resolved to use every available opportunity, all means at its disposal and its influence to ensure that the use of prohibited substances and methods in sport at last becomes a thing of the past.
I am exceptionally proud of the position that our nation has taken on this issue. This truly is a non-partisan statement. The commitment of the current government to continue to support this program is unshakeable. I congratulate my colleague, the chair of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, on bringing this motion forward.