Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his important work on the issue of safe sport.
I would like to begin by thanking and honouring the survivors. I admire the courage of those who came forward so we could learn, better protect our children and improve our systems and processes. What happened to them should not have happened. We are committed to ensuring they get support.
Sport has the power to create positive change. Sport fills communities. It ignites national pride. However, with insufficient safeguards and accountability, sport can also do harm.
Unfortunately, not every participant in sport has positive experiences. There continue to be calls from victims and survivors in the broader sport community to address power imbalances between athletes and sport organizations, provide greater protections against maltreatment and hold organizations and individuals accountable.
I am committed to a process that will investigate the sport system in Canada, one that is trauma-informed, that supports athlete survivors and that draws on outside experts. This is so important for the future of sport, and we need to take the time to do it right.
Since 2018, our government has been working to ensure safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments for everyone, while requiring all sport organizations funded by the Government of Canada to take measures to prevent and address maltreatment in sport.
The Government of Canada also supported the development of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport, or UCCMS. That is a key example of the positive momentum that can be created when our government works closely with its partners, in this case national sport leaders and subject matter experts. The result is that the UCCMS is the core document that sets harmonized rules to be adopted by sport organizations that receive funding from the Government of Canada to advance a respectful sport culture that delivers quality, inclusive, accessible, welcoming and safe sport experiences.
In June 2021, the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner launched its operations as the entity responsible for administering the UCCMS and overseeing complaints of maltreatment. The office uses trauma-informed processes that are compassionate and efficient and that provide fairness, respect and equity to all parties involved.
These measures are only part of the solution. The responsibility of ensuring a safe sport environment must be shared by all leaders in the field.