Question Period Note: Discrimination and racism in sport

Sport Canada is working with stakeholders in the Canadian sport system to implement measures to prevent discrimination and racism, and promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in sport.

• We remain committed to promoting an environment where all Canadians can engage in sport, regardless of age, ability, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.
• Our government is working with the sport community to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for all participants.
• We will continue to support federally funded sport organizations to implement measures to create a sport system that ensures equity, diversity, and inclusion, and, in support of this, have announced renewed funding of $25.3 million over three years for gender equity in sport.

• Through Budget 2018, the Government set a target date to achieve gender equality in sport at every level by 2035 and provided an initial investment of $30 million over three years. Sport Canada’s Gender Equity, Inclusion, and Innovation team is responsible for the development, implementation, and monitoring of a gender equity in sport strategy at Sport Canada. The goal of this strategy is to bring about greater participation of women in leadership roles, coaching and officiating, and address challenges of participation and retention in sport, which in turn contributes to greater representation in sport.
• On February 22, 2019, Sport Canada launched the Innovation Initiative, which provides funding to eligible organizations for testing innovative approaches to sport participation and retention challenges as it pertains to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Sport Canada has also been engaging with the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat and the 2SLGBTQI+Secretariat, prior to embarking on a series of consultations, to support the development of an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and a Sport for All Strategy.
• In September and October 2020, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Parliamentary Secretary for Canadian Heritage (Sport) held a series of roundtable discussions on sport on the following topics: Advancing Equity and Anti-Racism in the cultural, heritage and sport sectors; Indigenous Sport; Diversity Discussion on Women and 2SLGBTQI+; Recreational Sport; High-Performance sport; and a general Sport Town Hall. These discussions included women’s groups, 2SLGTBQI2+ organizations, Indigenous organizations, as well as sport organizations.
• Through Budget 2021, the Government committed $80 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to support community-based organizations to deliver organized sport projects for equity-seeking groups, in particular, Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+, and new Canadians.
• The objectives are to increase sport participation and retention; remove barriers to participation in sport programming; and help make organized sport safe and accessible to all. Of the $80 million,
$1.6 million will be dedicated to the Sport Support Program – Innovation Initiative to support pilot projects, which test new approaches to reducing barriers for equity-deserving groups.
• Additionally, Budget 2021 announced the Indigenous Reconciliation and Strength for Indigenous Women and Girls through Sport initiative, in the amount of $14.3 million over five years, starting in 2021-22, and $2.9 million ongoing, to ensure that Indigenous women and girls have access to meaningful sport activities through the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities Initiative and to respond to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
• This initiative aims to expand the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities initiative and thereby improve social outcomes for Indigenous women and girls in the areas of physical and mental health, suicide prevention, sexual trafficking awareness and prevention, safe and healthy relationships, and sexual positivity (2SLGBTQI+).
• In October 2022, the Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec held a roundtable with stakeholders on the topic of inclusion in sport as part of a pan-Canadian consultation process for the renewal of the Canadian Sport Policy.
• Following the roundtable, the Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec announced renewed funding of $25.3 million over three years for gender equity in sport. The investment will help recruit and retain women and girls participating in sport, and support ongoing efforts to move towards the target of gender equity at all levels of sport by 2035. Funding will also be used to support activities that expand efforts to include other demographic groups that are underrepresented in sport including Black and racialized Canadians, 2SLGBTQI+ people, and newcomers to Canada.

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