By Canadian Press

Status of women committee passes motion for study on safety in sport

Oct 31, 2022 | 12:47 PM

The standing committee on the status of women unanimously passed a motion Monday to undertake a study on the safety of women and girls in sport.

“There needs to be an in-depth study on the causes as to why there is still so many issues in changing the culture in sports,” said Andréanne Larouche, a Bloc Québécois MP of Shefford, Que., and vice-chair of the committee.

“I witnessed discussions with Hockey Canada. And Hockey Canada is one thing, but we’ve seen in the past weeks that it goes beyond Hockey Canada. There are women who are in different sports — water polo, gymnastics and I could name many — that are talking about similar issues.”

The motion for the public meeting was requested by four members of the committee, and comes amid calls for a federal inquiry from athletes in several embattled Canadian sports.

Hundreds of athletes have come forward this year to publicly report issues of physical, sexual and psychological abuse, and many, including more than 500 current and retired gymnasts, have been calling on the federal government to conduct an independent investigation into sport.

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Recently, four former members of Canada’s women’s water polo team filed a $5.5 million lawsuit against Water Polo Canada.

“We need to help women and girls in other sports. They’re waiting for us to lead by example and we know that sports are a good source of positivity for girls,” Larouche added.

Larouche proposed the motion while Jenna Sudds, a Liberal MP of Kanata—Carleton, Ont., put forth an amendment to have the comprehensive study begin on Nov. 17, following the completion of a separate mental health study. 

Sudds also presented an amendment to have the government provide a comprehensive response to the report, which was approved.

The committee also agreed to hold four meetings to hear testimonies and invited witnesses, including sport minister Pascale St-Onge, to testify. 

It also will report its observations and recommendations to the House of Commons and have a list of witnesses put forth by Friday.

— With files from Lori Ewing

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2022.

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press