44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 14, 2022 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, would my colleague go so far as to say that this economic statement is futile?
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- Nov/14/22 6:49:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, allow me to go back in time a bit.
The creation of an independent body for handling complaints in sport is the result of a request from the Bloc Québécois. On April 28, 2021, my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert moved a motion calling on the House to ask the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to undertake a study on the urgent need to establish a mechanism to receive complaints from athletes. On January 21, 2022, my colleague from Drummond and I wrote to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Sport to explain why it should be mandatory for national sport organizations to sign on to this mechanism.
Then, on April 5, 2022, Sport Canada announced the creation of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, or OSIC, which we welcomed. However, the OSIC is clearly an unsatisfactory response to the widespread consensus in sporting, political and media circles. The House of Commons called for an independent public inquiry to investigate the issue thoroughly. The motion it unanimously adopted read:
That the House call for an independent inquiry into Hockey Canada's handling of the events of June 2018, in order to determine whether this was an isolated event or whether there are deficiencies in Hockey Canada's handling of reported complaints of sexual assault, sexual harassment and other types of misconduct.
I would like to go over a few facts. We learned that the Minister of Sport was informed in advance, on May 24, 2022, by Hockey Canada that there would be an article in the newspapers about an out-of-court settlement with a young victim concerning allegations of gang rape by eight hockey players in June 2018 in London. I would like to commend the stellar journalist Rick Westhead for writing that article.
I then moved a motion in the House to summon Hockey Canada representatives to appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. We know the rest. On October 5, I asked the Prime Minister to confirm when he would launch a public judicial inquiry into the issue of abuse in sport.
A motion was adopted unanimously by the Liberals, the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and the Green Party, so when will this inquiry be launched?
More than six months later, athletes from several disciplines are reaching out to parliamentarians to talk about the different kinds of abuse they endured. There is a growing consensus. We are coming to realize that we must examine more than just Hockey Canada. We must shed light on the toxic culture that is polluting our sports, and examine how federations handle complaints and how they treat their athletes. The concrete recommendations that will be made will result in real change.
An independent inquiry will finally allow us to get to the bottom of this issue and will result in concrete recommendations that can be applied to all sport federations. This inquiry will bring everyone together and ensure that everyone is on the same page. It is important to harmonize the practices of national sport organizations and make them coherent.
To learn from the past, we need to understand what happened over the last few decades. We need to look at what worked and what did not. Ultimately, the goal is to come up with a mechanism that works and a strong and trustworthy organization. We know this mechanism is still overseen by people closely associated with sport organizations, and the toxic culture that takes over at times can shake people's confidence.
Athletes need to have faith in an organization that is dedicated to defending their rights, which is not the case at this point in time. I want to emphasize that athletes need a recognized, rigorous, credible organization that can ensure their complaints are handled by an independent individual.
How do we achieve that dialogue? There can be no reconciliation as long as athletes can see or feel the power imbalance created by national sport organizations and Sport Canada's inaction, as recognized in July.
Now, a public inquiry—
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- Nov/14/22 6:58:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the problem is that athletes seem to no longer trust the organizations that manage their sport.
The Prime Minister reiterated that from his seat in response to my question on October 5. When will he launch this independent public inquiry that will put an end to the mistreatment in sport and mismanagement by the organizations that are meant to facilitate athletes' enjoyment of their sport? This includes Canada Soccer, Canada Artistic Swimming, Water Polo Canada, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, Gymnastics Canada, Boxing Canada, Rowing Canada, Alpine Canada and Rugby Canada, which have all experienced problems.
As parliamentarians, we have the obligation to ensure that our athletes and our children are not denied their rights when they practice the sport they love. Sports organizations have failed in their duty and it is because they turned a blind eye to the misconduct and failed to act in the interest of protecting athletes and our children that the House is seized with this issue this evening.
In keeping with what we learned from the Dublin commission of inquiry into doping, recommendations need to be made regarding the needs of the survivors and there need to be repercussions. When will there be an independent public inquiry?
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- Nov/14/22 7:01:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for speaking French and I would also like to sincerely thank the interpreters. I am sorry. It is a fascinating debate and I will constantly strive to improve for them.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments.
I believe that his motion indicates that this economic statement was a useless endeavour, that it should have been part of a plan in a budget, and that the government should have been able to predict inflation with the data we already had last spring. This economic statement would have been useful had it included at least three things. First, it should have increased seniors' benefits because they are the ones mainly affected and they are unable to earn additional income. Second, there should have been significant health transfers because that is where we have difficulties. Finally, there needs to be a complete overhaul of EI because inflation could be a sign of a coming recession and, as a result, job losses.
Given that six in 10 workers currently do not have access to employment insurance, would my colleague be prepared to include measures that would support the overhaul of EI?
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