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House Hansard - 309

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 6, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24
Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.)
  • May/6/24 10:15:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the House of Commons on this very important matter. I thank my colleague for his work on this very relevant issue. Our government firmly believes that Canadians deserve a sport system that reflects and celebrates the values of equity and inclusiveness. Over the past few years, we have made significant progress. Credit is owed to the athlete survivors who courageously shared their stories with the media and with House of Commons and government committees. Although it should not have been necessary, their advocacy turned this conversation into a national priority. We very clearly heard the call for systemic change in sport. Sport systems in Canada and around the world are going through a period of upheaval. Trust in our sports organizations and leaders has crumbled. Since June 2022, two parliamentary committees have studied maltreatment in Canada's sport system. We announced the launch of an independent and impartial commission on the future of sport in Canada. The commission will provide a forum to shed some light on the experiences of survivors, to support healing and to explore how to improve the sport system in Canada. The commission will be trauma-informed. It will be centred on survivors and based on human rights. The commission will consist of three individuals and will be headed by an independent legal expert, who will be appointed commissioner. This person will be independent of both the government and the sports system. The commissioner will be supported by two special advisers, one with lived experience or expertise in victims' rights, child protection or trauma-informed processes. The other advisor will have expertise and experience in sports. The commission will report publicly on its findings and make recommendations in two specific areas. The first will outline action that can be taken to improve the safety of sport in Canada, including trauma-informed approaches, to help athletes heal from maltreatment in sport. The second area will include action that can be taken to improve the sport system in Canada as a whole, including issues related to policy, funding, structures, governance, reporting, accountability, conflicts of interest, system alignment, culture and legal considerations. Following public engagement and a preliminary public report, the commission will hold a national summit where participants can deliberate on the commission's preliminary findings and recommendations to inform its final recommendations.
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