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House Hansard - 126

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 14, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 126 - Nov/14/22
Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport, Lib.)
  • Nov/14/22 6:54:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue for his question. I would also like to thank the other members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for the important work they do in promoting a safe sporting environment. As a society, we in Canada have a shared responsibility to promote and ensure a safe sporting environment for all. Last month, we learned that Hockey Canada's CEO and its entire board of directors were stepping aside. Although we are pleased to hear that, we expect the interim board of directors to be made up of people who want to make real changes. We have tremendous admiration for our athletes, coaches and volunteers in sport federations. From international competitions to neighbourhood activities, sport is a positive force in our lives. That is why we, as a government, have worked really hard to ensure that partners, including athletes, take strong action to protect Canadian athletes and other Canadians by promoting an environment where all of us and them can safely engage in sport. An example of that action is the funding we provided in budget 2019 to enable Canadian sport organizations to promote accessible, ethical, equitable and safe sport. We are also proud to provide an investment of $16 million over three years to support the newly created Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. This is an important step to challenge the culture of silence and to provide a clear and reliable way for all participants in sport to report incidences of maltreatment and to be heard and supported. This independent mechanism will gradually become mandatory for all national sport organizations. In fact, in 2017, I was asked by the former minister of sport to be part of a working group. One of the things that my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue mentioned was quite salient. In fact, we made some recommendations in that working group for what is now called the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. One recommendation was that we create an arm's length, independent organization, a mechanism by which we can trust that sport organizations will rely on an ethical framework. We demanded that it be fully funded by the federal government. We also demanded, at that time back in 2017, that it be mandatory for all national sport organizations. I am proud to say that today, in 2022, all of those things are true. In response to the determination that Hockey Canada created those two separate accounts that my colleague referred to, the Minister of Sport very quickly froze funding to that national sport organization to be reinstated only after an audit has been prepared and completed and it has signed on as a full member of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. More recently, this summer, the Government of Canada announced that Sport Canada was working on new requirements to ensure organizations that receive federal funding meet specific governance, accountability and safe sport standards. We would also like to note that these new measures are only part of the solution. The responsibility of ensuring a safe sport environment must be shared by all leaders and stakeholders in the field, from community sport to competitive sport, from young ages to provincial, national and international sport. Our government will continue to engage provincial and territorial partners to drive alignment, which is essential to achieving that change in culture that we all strive for. I would also add that the change in culture needs to happen in other areas, and not just in sport. We firmly believe our society can transform the culture of sport and provide positive examples of sporting life. Our government is committed to continuing its work in that regard.
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