Question Period Note: Allegations of Abuse in Canadian Artistic Swimming National Team

A group of six current and former artistic swimmers, led by gold medalist Sylvie Fréchette, held a press conference on March 9, 2021, to denounce the alleged psychological abuse that artistic swimmers have endured for over a decade under multiple coaches, and the trauma that it has caused to many of them. A class action against Canada Artistic Swimming was filed. As a result of these allegations, two former national team coaches were suspended. After an independent investigation, the suspensions of the former coaches were lifted. The current national team coach has taken a leave of absence.

• We remain committed to promoting an environment where all Canadians can safely engage in sport, regardless of age, ability, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.
• Our government is working with the sport community to establish mechanisms for managing allegations of maltreatment to ensure safe, welcoming and inclusive environments for all athletes.
• We require federally funded sport organizations to take measures to create a workplace free from harassment, abuse or discrimination of any kind.

• The Minister of Canadian Heritage’s mandate letter included the commitment to “continue to work with partners, including provinces and territories, to foster an environment that is safe, welcoming and inclusive in the sport and cultural industries”. The letter also included the commitment to “foster a national culture of safe sport, including physical safety, sporting environments free of harassment, promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and research into injury prevention”.
• Budget 2019 provided $30 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, with $6 million per year ongoing, to enable Canadian sports organizations to promote accessible, ethical, equitable and safe sports.
• On June 19, 2018, the following measures were announced to enhance the existing policy framework in the areas of harassment, abuse and discrimination: Federally funded sport organizations must: 1-Take all necessary measures to create a workplace free from harassment, abuse or discrimination of any kind; 2-Immediately disclose any incident that could compromise the project or programming to the Minister responsible for sport; 3-Make provisions for access to an independent third party to address harassment and abuse cases; 4-Provide mandatory training on harassment and abuse to their members.
• In February 2019, during the meeting of federal, provincial, and territorial Ministers responsible for sport, physical activity, and recreation, Ministers endorsed the Red Deer Declaration for the Prevention of Harassment, Abuse and Discrimination in Sport. As part of this declaration, Ministers agreed to develop a collaborative approach to increase awareness, prevention, identifying and reporting, and monitoring to address harassment, abuse, and discrimination in sport. Ministers also agreed to make "safety and integrity in sport" a standing agenda item for future meetings.
• In March 2019, the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) launched of a pilot project for a helpline for referral and for an investigation unit to extend its expertise and services to offer an independent third-party service to investigate harassment and abuse complaints. This service is still offered by the SDRCC.
• In the Spring 2019, Sport Canada supported the Coaching Association of Canada to host a series of nationwide consultations on the development of the Universal Code of Conduct to address harassment and abuse in Canadian sport. The resulting Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (the Code), which includes general principles, definitions of misconduct and prohibited behaviours and an approach to sanctions, was endorsed by the majority of national-level sport organizations and released publicly in December 2019.
• Through a contribution from Sport Canada, the Sport Information Resource Centre contracted an independent analysis of the national and international safe sport landscape and develop recommendations on the most effective means to establish and deliver an independent mechanism for administering the implementation of the Code.
• Based on the findings of this report, as well as additional input from the sport community, Sport Canada has established the essential structure, roles, processes, and services that must be in place to effectively administer the Code, and launched a call for applications to identify a Canadian organization that can deliver those essential elements and services for federally funded organizations.
• The independent mechanism to administer the implementation of the Code is expected to be in place, with financial support from Sport Canada, in the 2021–22 fiscal year.
• Canada Artistic Swimming has followed their internal process and concluded a review of the National Team’s training environment in Montréal. The review report has provided recommendations that Canada Artistic Swimming will implement.
• In response to information provided in an application for a Class Action Lawsuit against Canada Artistic Swimming (CAS) it suspended two former national team coaches and, in accordance with the organization’s Discipline and Complaints policy, an independent Safe Sport Officer conducted a preliminary inquiry and provided a report to the CAS Board of Directors. This inquiry included a full assessment of the policy, and communication with each complainant party and/or their legal representatives.
• During the course of the preliminary inquiry, none of the parties involved indicated that they were willing to proceed as a complainant in a safe sport investigation. On this basis, the Safe Sport Officer has not accepted the reported complaint and recommends no further action.
• Based on the preliminary inquiry by the external, independent Safe Sport Officer, and its conclusion that the matter of safe sport complaints against the two former coaches be closed, the CAS Board of Directors has determined that the current provisional suspensions of both coaches will be lifted with immediate effect.
• A review of the national team coach is complete and he is eligible to coach but has chosen to take a leave of absence and is not currently coaching.

None