Madam Speaker, scandals in the sports world continue to plague our country. The scale of these abuses against athletes needs immediate attention. Athletes should have the right to participate in any sport free of maltreatment, abuse or harm.
Today, I stand up for my constituents, some of whom are survivors of abuse and help shed light on the seriousness of the issue.
I would like to thank Dr. Victoria Paraschak from the University of Windsor and many other advocates and sports organizations from across Canada working together to ensure the government recognizes the scope, urgency and importance of protecting our athletes from abuse in sport. They know we need a preventive approach to justice for survivors that examines these problems systematically, not on a case-by-case basis.
I proudly stand, together with these leaders and survivors in sport, to request that the government call a judicial inquiry that is completely independent of sport and that outlines a clear and consistent approach that is fair and immediate for these survivors. Without this transparent mechanism available in the form of a judicial inquiry, we will continue to see complaints, maltreatment and no justice.
It is time to protect our Canadian youth and athletes today.