Backgrounder: Government of Canada provides update and announces action on safe sport

News release:  Government of Canada provides update and announces action on safe sport

The following actions are underway:

Accountability, Reporting and Governance

• Effective April 1, 2023, Sport Canada will make changes to contribution agreements with organizations that meet the new eligibility requirements of the Sport Funding and Accountability Framework. The objective is to ensure that sport organizations receiving federal funding meet specific governance, accountability and safe sport standards. Over the next few months, Sport Canada will be working to develop new requirements and standards to achieve this objective.

Sport Canada Athlete Advisory Committee

• This committee will be created to increase athlete representation in the sport system and to allow Sport Canada to obtain advice and guidance consistent with the lived experience of athletes in Canada.

Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner

• The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) was created to provide the sport system and athletes with a safe and reliable channel for complaints.
• OSIC is mandated to receive, investigate and adjudicate complaints from members of national sport organizations under the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS), a formula that ensures OSIC’s independence and instills confidence in all those who use its services.
• Budget 2022 proposed an investment of $16 million over three years to support the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.

Canadian Sport Policy

• Work is underway to renew the Canadian Sport Policy to reflect the diverse perspectives of the Canadian public.
• A consultation will be conducted specifically on the issue of safety in sport to ensure that the new version of the policy contributes to a change in sport culture.
• The Canadian Sport Policy will serve as a roadmap to guide progress over the next 10 years (2023–2033) towards the desired state of Canadian sport. It is based on current data and consultations with interested stakeholders around various themes (including diversity, equity and inclusion). Canadians are invited to take the survey and share their views on how we can shape the future of sport in Canada.

Working with the Provinces and Territories

• At this summer’s federal-provincial-territorial sport ministers’ conference in Niagara, Ontario, the Minister will continue to work with her provincial and territorial counterparts in sport to promote pan-Canadian cohesion on safe sport.

All of these new measures build on the Government of Canada’s significant actions and investments over the past few years to create a safer, more welcoming and more inclusive sport environment.