Question Period Note: Government of Canada response to maltreatment allegations within Gymnastics in Canada and calls for an independent judicial inquiry

The Government of Canada is taking steps to ensure more rigorous accountability with Gymnastics Canada following allegations of maltreatment at various levels of the sport in Canada. Following the Gymnasts for Change Canada appearance at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, the representatives of this group requested that the federal government undertake an independent judicial inquiry into maltreatment in sport.

• The stories that are being shared by gymnasts around the world, including here in Canada at the local, provincial or national level, are heartbreaking, disturbing, and simply unacceptable.

• Anyone victim of, or witness to a criminal act, should report the incident to the police of authority immediately.

• The creation of the Office of the Sport Integrity will challenge the culture of silence an help provide a reliable mechanism to report abuse and maltreatment, and for victims to be heard and supported.

• I look forward to the recommendations coming from the “Women and Girls in Sport” study by the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

• Budget 2019 provided $30 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, with $6 million per year ongoing, to enable Canadian sport organizations to promote accessible, ethical, equitable and safe sports.
• Sport Canada supported the Coaching Association of Canada to host a series of nationwide consultations on the development of a Universal Code of Conduct to address harassment and abuse in Canadian sport (the Code). The resulting 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.
• In July 2021, the then Minister of Canadian Heritage announced that the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) had been selected, based on the recommendations of a committee of representatives of Canadian sport and experts in prevention of abuse, to establish and deliver the independent mechanism, to be called the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.
• The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner administers the implementation of the Code and delivers services to federally funded organizations. On June 20, 2022, the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner launched its first phase of operations.
• The Minister of Sport has made it a funding condition for all federally funded organizations to become a signatory to the Abuse-Free Sport program, including the services of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner as their independent third-party to receive and manage allegations of maltreatment.
• In early 2022, concerns about the culture of Gymnastics Canada and allegations implicating members of the organizations were reported in the media.
• On March 28, 2022, Gymnasts for Change Canada published their open letter to Sport Canada calling for an independent, third-party investigation.
• On June 28, 2022, Gymnastics Canada announced that McLaren Global Sport Solutions would lead a culture review of the organization and provide recommendations.
• On July 21, 2022, Gymnasts for Change Canada and Global Athlete wrote to the Minister of Sport reiterating the need for a fully independent third-party investigation.
• On July 22, 2022, the Minister of Sport announced that she would suspend funding to Gymnastics Canada until it become a signatory to the Abuse-Free Sport program, including the services of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. The Minister of Sport also sent a letter to Gymnastics Canada informing the organization of the new condition.
• On October 19, 2022, Gymnastics Canada became a signatory to Abuse-Free Sport program and has now met all of the current conditions.
• Since Gymnastics Canada had met the conditions, Sport Canada released funding to the organization and added conditions to its new funding agreement, including enhanced monitoring from Sport Canada, allowing a Sport Canada observer to attend regular board meetings as well as additional payment conditions.
• On October 26, 2022, Gymnasts for Change Canada wrote the Minister of Sport to call for her action in initiating an independent judicial inquiry.
• On October 31, 2022, the Standing Committee on the Status of Women met to discuss the request of four members of the committee to undertake a study of women and girls in sport.
• On November 6, 2022, “Broken – Inside the Toxic Culture of Canadian Gymnastics”, a feature-length documentary from TSN with CTV’s W5, was released on the Crave Canada streaming platform.
• On November 21, 2022, the first meeting of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women on the study of Women and Girls in Sport was held. Gymnasts for Change Canada, Global Athlete, Canadian Women & Sport, Indigenous Sport & Wellness Ontario, and academics appearing as witnesses made presentations and answered the Committee’s questions. Gymnasts for Change Canada and Global Athlete both called for an independent judicial inquiry into abuse in sport during their testimonies.

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