The Canadian government has committed $13.8m in the budget unveiled Tuesday to tackle the issues of abuse in sport that have made headlines over the past year.

Federal Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge has already said that the sports system is in crisis.

Athletes have given poignant testimonies to parliamentary committee meetings in recent months about the sexual, mental and physical abuse they have suffered, and how the sport system has failed to address it.

The budget dedicated $13.8m over three years from 2022-23 to the Department of Heritage which oversees the sport portfolio to “enhance accountability and support efforts to build a safe and responsible sport system”.

“From rookies to Olympians, all athletes in Canada should be free from abuse, harassment and mistreatment,” the budget notes state.

“Ensuring that our sport institutions across the country are accountable for the treatment of their athletes is essential to building a sport system that promotes the safety and well-being of Canadian athletes. »

The 2022 budget provided $16m to fund the new Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (BCIS) during its first three years of operation.

OSIC started receiving complaints and reports on June 20, 2022.