Fostering safe, sustainable culture change in sport

OTTAWA – The Canadian sport system must continue to put the well-being of sport participants first to ensure their physical and mental safety. Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, announced new actions that the Government of Canada is taking to improve governance of federally funded sport organizations, enhance safe sport practices, and amplify the role of athletes in decision making. The following measures are part of an ongoing process toward a more accountable and safer sport system where the well-being of sport participants is top of mind.

Governance

Good governance practices are a necessary requirement for healthy, safe, and inclusive sport environments. To that end, Minister St-Onge announced that, to receive federal funding, all national sport organizations (NSOs) will be required to fully adopt the foundational governance principles in the Canadian Sport Governance Code by April 2025. These principles include precise target requirements for diversity on boards of directors, parameters around board independence and term limits, proper training for board members, and various requirements regarding transparency. The Code is evolutive and will be updated in the context of evolving best practices.

Sport Canada’s Compliance and Accountability Unit

As announced in Budget 2023, to ensure it can better monitor and hold funded organizations accountable, Sport Canada will create a new compliance unit with dedicated resources. The compliance unit will work with NSOs and external experts on the development of concrete action plans with clear indicators on governance, safe sport, and athlete representation. These plans will need to be in place by April 2024 to access Government of Canada funding.

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)

Non-disclosure agreements or non-disparaging clauses should never be used to prevent athletes and other sport participants from disclosing maltreatment they have experienced or witnessed. Minister St-Onge highlighted that a revised Athlete Agreement, developed by AthletesCAN, makes it clear that athletes’ rights under the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) cannot be restricted. The language in the Athlete Agreement will be a requirement for all NSOs to integrate. Sport Canada, through funding agreements with NSOs, will prohibit any NSO contracts, policies, procedures, or actions from restricting participants’ rights under the UCCMS, in line with national efforts to that regard.

Athletes at the heart of decision-making structures

The voice of athletes and their capacity to engage in the national sport system must be prioritized and protected. Minister St-Onge announced that NSOs will be required to have an athlete representative on their board of directors, and Sport Canada will work with the sport community to achieve this objective. Sport Canada will dedicate $300,000 in funding for AthletesCAN to strengthen its capacity as athlete leaders, to collaborate across the sport system, and to support governance training opportunities so that athletes are fully prepared to take on governance roles. In addition, to ensure Sport Canada’s work is informed by the athlete perspective, a permanent Athlete Advisory Committee has been established. The composition of the Athlete Advisory Committee, along with the launch of a Sport Canada athlete internship, will be announced soon.

Maltreatment education and prevention

Sport Canada will work with partners in the sport system and dedicate $1 million in funding through the Sport Support Program to develop robust, consistent, and system-wide promotion of the tools and resources regarding harassment, abuse and discrimination, such as the UCCMS. The Canadian Olympic Committee has committed to match the funding.

Standards and certifications for coaches

Good coaching practices based on an understanding and awareness of acceptable behaviours, as well as thorough and consistent screening and certification of coaches, are essential to provide safe training environments. Funding of $250,000 will be provided to the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) to ensure that all development and national team coaches attending international events are thoroughly screened and have the appropriate coaching certifications. This will include comprehensive background checks and training on the UCCMS. This will mean that athletes can expect consistent and thorough screening of NSO coaches. The CAC will also develop training for international coaches to help them understand Canadian values and norms and acceptable behaviours.

Public registry of sanctions

Minister St-Onge highlighted that the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada’s Abuse-Free Sport program will establish, within a year, a public registry of individuals who have been sanctioned under the UCCMS and whose eligibility to participate in sport has in some way been restricted.

Board of Directors nomination process for the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada

The mission of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) is to provide dispute resolution services for sport disputes, expertise and assistance regarding alternative dispute resolution. It is also the organization mandated by the Government of Canada to establish the Abuse-Free Sport program, including the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC). While OSIC operates as an independent division of the SDRCC, there has been public criticism recently about the perceived independence of the SDRCC and OSIC from the Government of Canada. To address those concerns, the Minister will review the current merit-based process and implement greater transparency for recruiting, nominating and appointing members to the SDRCC’s Board of Directors.

Abuse-Free Sport program

As of April 1, 2023, all NSOs must be a Program Signatory to the Abuse-Free Sport program, including the services of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, to receive funding from the Government of Canada.