Backgrounder: The Future of Sport in Canada Commission

News Release

To ensure all athletes and sport participants have a safe and positive experience in sport, Minister Qualtrough announced the creation of an independent and impartial Future of Sport in Canada Commission.

Over 18 months, the Commission will engage and seek input from the sport community, including survivors and victims of maltreatment in sport. The process will be trauma-informed, human rights-based and forward-looking. The Commission will be independent, transparent and flexible. It will develop recommendations for the Government of Canada to improve safety in sport and the sport system in Canada.

Composition

• The Commission will consist of three members: an independent Commissioner and two Special Advisors.
  • The Commissioner will be a legal expert who is external to the Canadian sport system.
  • One Special Advisor will be an expert with lived experience and/or expertise in victims’ rights and trauma-informed processes.
  • The second Special Advisor will be an expert on the Canadian sport system.
• The Commission will function independently and impartially in a non-partisan and transparent manner to achieve the objectives of its mandate.
• The Commission will perform its duties without undue influence over the conclusions to be reached and the recommendations to be made.

Mandate

• The Commission will review the Canadian sport system and make recommendations on improvements.
• Given that safe sport permeates every aspect of the Canadian sport ecosystem, the Commission will review the Canadian sport system and make recommendations on concrete and effective actions with respect to:
  • improving safe sport in Canada, including trauma-informed approaches to support sport participants in the disclosure of and healing from maltreatment; and
  • improving sport in Canada, including but not limited to policy, funding structures, governance, reporting, accountability, conflicts of interest, systems alignment, culture and legal considerations.
• In fulfilling this mandate, the Commission will produce two reports and hold a National Summit for participants to deliberate preliminary findings and recommendations.

Activities

• The Commission will engage victims and survivors of maltreatment in sport, as well as subject-matter experts, academics and advocates to bring to light the experiences, causes and impacts of inappropriate behaviour and maltreatment; support healing; and seek input to inform recommendations.
• The Commission will also engage a broad group of experts, academics, stakeholders and sport participants on how to improve the sport system in Canada, including but not limited to issues related to policy, funding structures, governance, reporting, accountability, conflicts of interest, systems alignment, culture and legal considerations.
• Commission activities will include regional and subject-specific roundtables, a public online survey and a public online submission portal. The Commission will offer participants a variety of public and private engagement options, as well as the opportunity to provide impact statements. Commission activities will include opportunities to participate in a manner that promotes inclusiveness and independence. Diversity, intersectionality, regional representation and linguistic duality will be priority considerations.
• The Commission is expected to engage and seek input from provinces and territories at the early stages of the Commission. This approach would help advance collaboration and constructive engagement from the outset.

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Terms of reference: The Future of Sport in Canada Commission