Trudeau authorities dropped the ball on preventing abuse in sport, former minister says

A Liberal MP and former sport minister is once more calling for a public inquiry into abuse in sport — and is accusing her personal authorities of not doing sufficient to deal with the issue.

Kirsty Duncan mentioned the federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not construct momentum behind her efforts to forestall harassment, abuse and discrimination in sport within the years after she left cupboard — regardless of figuring out lots about the issue nicely earlier than Hockey Canada’s dealing with of sexual assault allegations exploded within the information final 12 months.

Duncan mentioned she even confronted “pushback” from folks inside her personal authorities when she made tackling abuse a prime precedence of her time as sport minister.

Duncan mentioned she wouldn’t determine the people who resisted her efforts, or state whether or not they had been in her personal workplace or different authorities departments.

“It shouldn’t be a combat. I am asking for the safety of athletes and kids. There ought to by no means have been pushback,” Duncan informed CBC Information in an unique interview.

“I can’t stand idly by whereas there are athletes, kids and younger folks hurting on this nation. And I don’t settle for the established order. And if I don’t push for an inquiry, it means accepting the established order. And I can’t be complicit.”

On Thursday, Duncan introduced she’s taking medical depart efficient instantly on the recommendation of docs to take care of a bodily well being problem.

Duncan was not re-appointed to cupboard by Trudeau after the 2019 election. She was as an alternative appointed deputy Home chief for the federal government.

Trudeau dropped the place of sport minister from cupboard on the time and folded Duncan’s duties into the portfolio of the heritage minister, Steven Guilbeault.

Guilbeault’s ministerial mandate letter — which outlined his key coverage goals — charged him with fostering a tradition of protected sport.

‘Different priorities’

In response to questions from CBC concerning the progress Guilbeault made on that mandate, his workplace pointed to a Sport Canada timeline of protected sport initiatives within the nation.

The division launched a name for proposals to implement a brand new impartial protected sport mechanism in 2020. In July 2021, Guilbeault introduced that the Sport Dispute Decision Centre of Canada (SDRCC) would obtain as much as $2.1 million to arrange a brand new mechanism to supervise implementation of a brand new common code of conduct in sport.

A senior authorities supply with information of Guilbeault’s portfolio concedes “different priorities required extra consideration” when he was heritage minister. Guilbeault’s legislative priorities on the time together with confronting on-line abuse, digital streaming regulation and copyright reform.

The supply, who spoke to CBC Information on the situation of confidentiality, mentioned the division’s priorities shifted when the pandemic hit in March 2020, simply 4 months after Guilbeault was appointed minister. The supply mentioned they “completely perceive” Duncan’s declare that extra might have been executed on protected sport.

“Since 2016, our authorities has labored with the game group to advance a respectful sport tradition and reply to requires motion,” Guilbeault’s workplace wrote in an e-mail to CBC Information.

WATCH | Duncan says sports activities leaders ‘wish to do higher’ on defending athletes:

Duncan mentioned she felt her protected sport initiatives weren’t given the consideration they deserved after she left the workplace.

“There was nothing in place. There was actually nothing. There did not even appear to be insurance policies. Some had insurance policies, some did not,” she mentioned. “The place was the oversight? The place was the accountability?

“I feel what we have seen over the past 4 years, and we have definitely seen this summer season, is that there stays a massively disappointing resistance to alter.”

Present Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge was requested about Duncan’s declare that the federal government is not doing sufficient to guard athletes within the nation.

“I can inform you that we’re taking it extraordinarily severely,” she informed CBC Information.

“That is why we have invested $16 million within the final funds simply to create the Workplace of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, as a result of we felt it was so necessary to have that impartial mechanism. I am additionally making it necessary for all nationally funded organizations to enroll with these earlier than the following funding cycle.

“So any group that hasn’t protected their athletes by signing up with OSIC will not obtain the entire funding. That is the strongest device that I’ve. So sure, we’re taking this extraordinarily, extraordinarily severely.”

WATCH | Pascal St-Onge says the federal government takes security in sport ‘severely’:

Simply weeks after Duncan was named sport minister in January 2018, an investigation by CBC Information revealed that no less than 222 coaches concerned in novice sports activities over 20 years had been convicted of intercourse offences involving over 600 victims beneath age 18.

Duncan — a former gymnast who mentioned she skilled emotional and psychological abuse herself as an athlete — mentioned she was shaken by that report.

She launched quite a lot of measures — “broad strokes,” she calls them now — comparable to a third-party investigation unit and a nationwide toll-free confidential helpline for victims and witnesses of abuse in sport. She additionally introduced territorial and provincial sport ministers collectively in February 2019 to signal a declaration geared toward tackling and stopping harassment, abuse and discrimination in sport.

“I knew I needed to tackle the grassroots. That is the place most athletes will spend their life,” Duncan mentioned.

“Secure sport must be on each federal, provincial, territorial assembly 12 months after 12 months after 12 months, with actual objectives and deliverables. I talked lots about numbers. How can we tackle an issue if we do not know what that downside seems to be like?”

Reluctance in authorities

Within the 2019 federal funds, the federal government dedicated $30 million over 5 years “to allow Canadian sports activities organizations to advertise accessible, moral, equitable and protected sports activities.”

However Duncan says there was a local weather of resistance to insurance policies she was introducing, each inside and outdoors the federal government.

“I do not suppose folks understood the issue. There wasn’t a number of curiosity in Parliament. I requested what we had been doing and I used to be informed that we needed to cease this protected sport stuff and get again to what sport was actually about,” she mentioned, referring to celebrating sporting achievements.

“My reply was, ‘So not defending kids?'”

CBC Information reached out to the Prime Minister’s Workplace however they declined to remark.

WATCH | Kirsty Duncan describes ‘pushback’ by Hockey Canada:

Duncan mentioned a three-page letter despatched by Hockey Canada to one in all her senior coverage advisers displays the tone of the opposition she confronted.

The letter, first reported by the Canadian Press, was written by Glen McCurdie, then Hockey Canada’s vice-president of insurance coverage and danger administration. In it, McCurdie expressed concern about a few of the insurance policies Duncan was pursuing, together with the third-party investigation unit.

Duncan mentioned she by no means noticed the letter 4 years in the past and solely learn it for the primary time this previous summer season, when the Hockey Canada controversy was taking part in out.

“Hockey Canada doesn’t want to be encumbered by a system or course of that ties our arms and doesn’t enable us to handle a state of affairs as we deem essential. We’re merely asking that you just maintain this in thoughts as you proceed to steer us in a collective Secure Sport technique,” McCurdie wrote within the letter, which was additionally obtained by CBC Information.

Duncan mentioned she was annoyed in 2019 by Hockey Canada’s reluctance and stays simply as annoyed in the present day.

“Hockey Canada pushed again in opposition to a 3rd social gathering investigator and a protected sport helpline. Who would try this?” she mentioned. “Who would not desire a youngster to have the ability to decide up a telephone and say, ‘I’ve had an issue’?

“I feel folks wish to sweep this beneath the rug. I feel folks wish to transfer on. And we will not.”

In an e-mail to CBC, Hockey Canada mentioned the 2019 letter doesn’t mirror the group’s present considering or course. 

“Hockey Canada acknowledges that we have to do extra to foster a protected and constructive surroundings for all individuals on and off the ice,” the group wrote.

Hockey Canada mentioned the group participated within the authorities’s protected sport helpline and employed third-party investigators to look into the claims it obtained. Hockey Canada grew to become a full signatory in October 2022 to the Workplace of the Sport Integrity Fee, which is now chargeable for overseeing and investigating allegations of abuse in sport.