Sarah-Ève Pelletier’s first year as Sport Integrity Commissioner has shown her that the scope of her new role does not go far enough.
Canadian government-funded sport organizations are among 86 organizations now united under the umbrella of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (BCIS), which was established in June 2022. Goal: To ensure the implementation of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (CCUMS).
The federal government provided $16 million to fund Pelletier’s office for its first three years.
Once engaged with BCIS, sports federations and individuals are bound by CCUMS. The latter prohibits touching, neglect, physical, sexual and psychological abuse, as well as retaliation, refusal to report abuse, false allegations and abuse of power.
Sports organizations across the country were ordered to join BCIS’ Sport Without Abuse program by April 1 or lose federal funding. But provincial agencies, universities, colleges, high schools and sports clubs weren’t given a timeline.
“This big puzzle of making sure that every participant in sporting events has a safe space to go to if they have a problem is still incomplete, said Pelletier sorry Wednesday, during an interview with La Canadian Press. Today, there are still a few pieces missing from the puzzle. »
“A lot of people paid attention to that stat,” Pelletier said. The mandate given to us was to settle matters at the national level.
“We can see after the first year that most of our complaints are not about organizations at the national level. We agree that this fact should be put forward because it shows that we still have work to do. »
The time it took for organizations to sign as well as other organizations not under the BCIS umbrella limited the number of admissible complaints in that first year, Pelletier said. She still tries to find solutions for everyone who comes into her office.
“It’s our mission, of course, if someone comes to see us, to be able to help them,” Pelletier said. But helping them in some cases sometimes means finding alternatives and other places for those complaints to be addressed. »
As an arm of the Sport Dispute Resolution Center of Canada (SDRCC), BCIS was established to take the handling of complaints out of the hands of sport organizations.
“For the 66 cases that have been processed or are currently being processed, there was no central and independent organization to turn to before, explained Pelletier. Now 66 complaints are handled properly, independently. »
Disputes about illegal betting, conflicts of interest, team selection or the Athlete Assistance Program (carding) are not within the jurisdiction of BCIS.
Provinces and territories are encouraged to engage with BCIS or create their own independent complaints body.
Provincial sport ministers renewed their commitment to do so in February when they met with their federal counterpart, Pascale St-Onge. The latter has since passed to the Department of Canadian Heritage, which also includes sports. Carla Qualtrough is now Sports Minister.
Nova Scotia is the only province to have engaged with BCIS so far. It integrates sports associations one by one.
SDRCC CEO Marie-Claude Asselin said she was in discussions with the other provinces and territories.
The BCIS report after its first year indicates that 17,000 people are covered by the Abuse Free Sport program and that another 60,000 will be added when they participate in a national championship.