Canadian Heritage committee  Racism is a form of harm that is experienced by boys and girls and men and women of colour. It can be a terrible barrier to participation along with class and opportunity barriers. In the community that I know well, Scarborough, where you continue to serve, it's a huge barrier.

Canadian Heritage committee  I would suggest that the racial background of Canadian sport, and those who come forward with these horrible stories of abuse, reflects the class and racial character of Canada, even cities, and it's not representative of the racial diversity of Canada today.

Canadian Heritage committee  Well, the goal is to have OSIC cover all levels of Canadian sport. I fully agree with that. As we've heard all afternoon, the challenge is, one, Canadian federalism. You have to get an FPT buy-in for that. Secondly, the largely autonomous nature of Canadian sport in this country is a challenge.

Canadian Heritage committee  It has changed enormously. People like me made the Olympics on the basis of public and community programs that were largely accessible, given the nature of society in those times, and particularly for working-class children. It was mostly for boys. There was nowhere near the access for girls then, but in class terms, it was widely accessible.

Canadian Heritage committee  That is correct. The easy answer, which several of us have given, is to put sport in the national health and welfare department where it started, and to invest in it as part of the national health program, because of the resilience and other benefits it provides. Treat it like education, with good facilities, trained teachers, accountable leadership, and concerns about equity in class ratio and other terms.

Canadian Heritage committee  Out of crisis comes change. While this is an exceedingly difficult time for Canadian sport, public attention and extensive discussion have generated promising solutions. Yet, unless a concerted effort is made to implement the reforms on a comprehensive and sustained basis, their potential will only evaporate in the same way as early reforms.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you very much for this opportunity. My purpose today is to urge you to affirm the important reforms that have recently been introduced, the Universal Code of Conduct to Address and Prevent Maltreatment in Sport and the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, and see that they are effectively implemented and sustained.