Canada’s safe-sport commission set to begin cross-country hearings
Global News
The Future of Sport in Canada Commission's first of nine stops is Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 is in Toronto and the last is Dec. 10-13 in Halifax.
The Future of Sport in Canada Commission starts tackling the country’s safe-sport crisis later this month with the first of nine hearings.
Federal sports minister Carla Qualtrough announced in late 2023 that the commission’s mandate will be to learn from Canadians, including victims and survivors of abuse and maltreatment, about their experience in and with sports.
The commission’s first stop Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 is in Toronto and the last is Dec. 10-13 in Halifax.
Other hearing locations are: Regina, Nov. 12-15; Quebec City, Nov. 18-19; Montreal, Nov. 20-22; Winnipeg, Nov. 25-26; Calgary, Nov. 27-29; Victoria, Dec. 2-3; Vancouver, Dec. 4-6.
Qualtrough stopped short of a public inquiry despite calls to do so from several quarters, including former sports minister Kirsty Duncan and the parliamentary standing committee on the status of women.
Bloc-Québécois MP Sebastien Lemire continued to urge for a public inquiry Thursday in the House of Commons.
“This voluntary commission is no more than an advisory body,” he said. “It has no real powers to bring about significant change.”
Olympic kayak champion Adam van Koeverden, who is now an MP and the parliamentary secretary to the sports minister, countered that a public inquiry would take too long to institute.