Canadian Heritage committee  We've already seen that the introduction of a mandatory wellness framework has been a game-changer. We are now able to ensure that there are adequate financial supports to the national sport organizations to focus on this area. We assess the sports in a very fulsome manner at least twice annually, in addition to being in the daily training environment on a very regular basis.

Canadian Heritage committee  Certainly, we're redefining excellence as we speak. What does excellence mean to Canadians in the high-performance sport context? Behaviours that were acceptable 15, 10 or five years ago are no longer acceptable. We've also introduced a new initiative focused on professional development and leadership development of national coaches, so they are able to coach more effectively in today's high-performance sport landscape.

Canadian Heritage committee  Certainly, the three examples you've provided have all come to our attention. In all three instances, we have put funding conditions in place to make sure the sport organizations address the shortfalls that have come to light.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Chair, for the invitation to appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to elaborate on what we at Own the Podium do, how we do it and why we do it. It is an honour to be here. It goes without saying that one safe sport issue in our system is one too many.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thanks, Karen. Every athlete will have their own personal performance objective. Every sport will have its own sport objective, and we as a nation have our performance objectives for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as you've heard. An important element that Own the Podium has introduced in the last two years is not just looking at Sochi, but looking at the next set of games and making sure that we're developing that next generation of podium-potential athletes.

Canadian Heritage committee  Sure. I'll start, and Karen can add to it. The preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games starts the day after the previous games finish. It's four years of preparation. Around each athlete there is a very specific, well-trained team, and that team will include what we call a sports psychologist or a mental performance consultant.

Canadian Heritage committee  Own the Podium's role is to make sure that when the athletes and coaches and support staff get on the plane to Sochi, they have no regrets, they have been fully prepared, and they're able to look in the mirror and say they've done everything possible to perform to their best at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Canadian Heritage committee  I would say that both organizations have reviewed that particular issue and are comfortable in briefing the teams. I'll let Karen speak to that from a CPC perspective.

Canadian Heritage committee  Certainly. Given that Canada hosted the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we are rich in facilities that are ideal for Canada's winter sport athletes to train and prepare for games. Canada is particularly strong in the new Olympic sports, so the freestyle and snowboard sports.

Canadian Heritage committee  Great questions. First of all, we will do a full analysis after Sochi to determine the merits of our investment strategy. Did the incremental $10 million from the private and public sectors result in an improved return on investment in terms of medals? It's premature at this point.

Canadian Heritage committee  Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear with you again. It is of enormous importance to Canada's athletes to know that the Government of Canada and you, the elected politicians, continue to care about how they perform. Allow me to acknowledge the critical role the Government of Canada plays in high-performance sport in Canada.

Canadian Heritage committee  We're also trying to bring equipment to their daily training environment so that they can train by themselves right in their communities, for example, the developing wheelchair basketball players or wheelchair rugby players, sending them rollers that they can train with on a daily basis in their homes or in their local communities.

Canadian Heritage committee  It's sports specific, so certainly our observations in London, even in the swimming pool where we did very well, were that we won our medals in the less severely disabled classes. It's really about where the other medals are on the table. We didn't even have athletes who entered in the more severely disabled classes.

Canadian Heritage committee  There are several routes to increase the participation. Schools are very obvious ones, for sure. There are also the various disability groups that we're establishing partnerships with. The military is another significant opportunity. On many of those, Henry and his team are already well along the road to establishing the necessary alliances.

Canadian Heritage committee  Well, we certainly need to protect the investment that is being made by the Government of Canada into the Canadian Paralympic Committee, which actually impacts the base of athletes with a disability. The number of athletes being attracted to sport programs is not sufficient for us to develop future podium potential athletes.