Sport Solution Blog - AthletesCAN

Sport in Canada: The Continuing Journey to Safe Sport for Female Athletes

Posted on 23 April 202422 April 2024 by Jacob Morris

By: Tucker Seabrook (Case Manager), Alexandra Marshall (Caseworker) and Jonah Wilson (Caseworker)

The Sport Solution Blog is written by law students and is intended to provide information and the team’s perspectives on current issues. However, the Blog is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion. Athletes in need of assistance should contact the clinic directly at [email protected].

Safe Sport in Canada

The Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) is the core set of rules adopted by all sport organizations in Canada that receive funding from the federal government. Published by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC), these rules aim to ensure that maltreatment will not threaten the health and safety of participants in Canadian sport by advancing a culture that delivers quality, inclusive, accessible, welcoming and safe sport experiences. The UCCMS addresses a number of issues related to safe sport in Canada including:

Common principles and a commitment to advance a respectful sport culture;
Standard definitions of various forms of maltreatment, such as the grooming, neglect, and physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of individuals;
Prohibited behaviors such as retaliation, failure to report maltreatment, intentionally submitting false allegations, etc.; and
Framework for determining appropriate sanctions for parties who perform prohibited behaviours.¹

The SDRCCs safe sport framework also includes Abuse-Free Sport, whose primary goal is to prevent abuse in sport. Abuse-Free Sport provides access to a range of bilingual resources to everybody, regardless of the sport, level, or role of an individual. These resources include a helpline, education programs, and mental health services.

The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) operates as an independent division of the SDRCC, to administer the UCCMS in fair and equitable manners through Abuse-Free Sport.² Created by the Physical Activity and Sports Act in 2003³ and mandated by the Government of Canada on July 6, 2021,⁴ the OSIC advances the UCCMS by:

Overseeing the complaint intake process;
Conducting preliminary assessments and commissioning independent investigations;
Maintaining a database of imposed sanctions; and
Monitoring compliance by sporting organizations.

OSIC and the SDRCC have not yet published a new version of the UCCMS after version 6.0, which was only effective up until Nov. 30, 2022. Additionally, due to OSIC being federally mandated, it only serves national-level athletes, through their National Sport Organizations (NSOs). Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs) have no requirement to adopt the UCCMS and the SDRCC’s Abuse-Free Sport framework.⁵

Safe Sport and Female Athletes

At all levels of sport, there is a clear need for safe sport protocol for female-presenting athletes. Recently, in what is surely a step forward for safe sport and a win for athletes across the country, Canadian gymnastic coach Elvira Saadi was permanently banned from working with athletes.⁶ This remedy was requested by the complainants. Female athletes know how to increase safety in their sports: just ask them.

At the highest level, elite athletes appeared in front of the House of Commons on April 24, 2023 to demand the government take action.⁷ The athletes included Olympians from Canadian boxing, soccer and fencing, who asked for a public inquiry into Canadian sport culture. Myriam Da Silva Rondeau, an Olympic boxer, cites legal costs, therapy bills and financial stresses as a huge issue athletes face when they suffer maltreatment in sport. There is no debate: more support is needed for athletes.

Implementing safe sport protocols that protect female athletes is as easy as asking them what they need. From minor changes like conscientious scheduling so female athletes are not sharing training areas with male athletes or being left alone with coaches, to larger scale policies such as anti-retribution safeguards and funding for complainant support – there is so much more that could be done.

Equity, Not Erasure

There is no question that abuse in sport can – and does – happen to athletes of any gender, not just women. That being said, the majority of maltreatment is being reported by women.⁸ Interestingly, the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner’s Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) makes no mention of the vulnerability of female athletes, or gender at all, except in the excerpt below:

All Participants recognize that Maltreatment can occur regardless of race, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, and other characteristics. Moreover, it is recognized that those from marginalized groups have increased vulnerability to experiences of Maltreatment.⁹

There needs to be recognition that female athletes are having a different experience than their male counterparts. Equity does not mean treating all groups the same, it means ensuring that different groups are being treated as they need to be in order to have the same safe experience. Female athletes will have different safety concerns and different experiences than males in the same sport. It is a failing of the UCCMS to not comment further on this.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Ensuring the safe sport needs of female athletes are included as part of the Future of Sport in Canada Commission is a vital step in achieving equity in sport. The commission should start by asking athletes what they need to feel safe and building policies around female athletes’ informed and lived experiences. This would be a powerful step forward on the road to ensuring a safe sport environment for female athletes across the county.

Citations

I Did Not Receive Carding – What Now?

Posted on 9 April 20249 April 2024 by Jacob Morris

By: Robyn Jeffries (Case Manager), Brayden Mulhern (Caseworker) & Daniel Torch (Caseworker)

If you have been excluded, had your nomination rejected, or had your card withdrawn, this post provides an overview of how to understand the factors that lead to the decision, how the appeals process works and how the Sport Solution Clinic can assist you.

Step 1: Seek Legal Advice

We recommend that athletes seek legal advice when dealing with non-selection issues, as they are trained to help you understand your potential courses of action and legal rights. Please feel free to contact the Sport Solution Clinic for pro bono (free) legal assistance: [email protected].

At any point during your appeal process you may decide it prudent or advantageous to obtain legal representation. Here is a link to a page where you can find a list of lawyers and pro bono clinics across Canada to assist you. Please keep in mind that these lawyers and pro bono clinics have no affiliation whatsoever with the SDRCC: http://www.crdsc-sdrcc.ca/eng/dispute-resolution-arbitrators.

Step 2: Understanding the Carding Process

In order to assess whether you have a valid claim to an appeal, it will be beneficial to understand the carding process that your respective NSO employs. Athletes are first nominated by their NSO according to the NSO’s “Carding Policy.” These policies outline the requirements an NSO uses to nominate athletes for the carding process. Carding Policies must be sport-specific and compliant with the Athlete Assistance Program’s (AAP) Policies and Procedures. If there are more athletes within a particular NSO who meet the eligibility requirements, the NSO will rank the athletes based on their Carding Policy.

Sport Canada receives the NSO’s list of nominated athletes and cross-references them with the AAP Policies and Procedures related to carding. Athletes must, therefore, qualify for carding under the policies set out by both their NSO and Sport Canada.

Step 3: Understanding the Potential Points of Rejection

The appeal process varies depending on which point in the carding process the athlete was no longer given consideration. There are two points at which this can happen:

The NSO. In this situation, the NSO did not nominate the athlete or recommended withdrawing the athlete’s card.
Sport Canada. In this scenario, Sport Canada rejected the athlete’s nomination or withdrew their carding.

After having selected an athlete for carding, Sport Canada reserves the right to withdraw carding for any of the following reasons:

Failure to meet training or competition commitments;
Violation of the Athlete/NSO agreement;
Failure to meet athlete responsibilities outlined in the AAP policies and procedures;
Gross breach of discipline, including assertion of or prosecution of a criminal offence;
Investigation for cause; and
Violations of anti-doping rules

Further details on what disqualifiers or types of activities will fall under any of these categories can be found at: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/athlete-assistance/policies-procedures.html#a13

Step 4: Understand Your Options

In both scenarios, the athlete can accept the decision made by the NSO or Sport Canada, or choose to appeal it. While the appeals process is generally similar, it is vital to refer to the procedures and rules in the appeal policies of the decision maker, specifically the NSO or Sport Canada. Also, please note that the time restrictions for the appeal processes are strict. Any appeals not made within the specified time frame may or may not be considered, at the discretion of the NSO director, or in cases of an AAP appeal, at the discretion of Sport Canada Senior Director of the Programs Division. Any decision allowing or disallowing an appeal made by the Sport Canada Senior Director cannot be appealed.

Scenario (1): NSO

If an athlete’s name is not put forward to Sport Canada, an appeal may be lodged according to the internal appeal process of the NSO. Here is a link to NSO’s with their own internal appeal process: http://www.crdsc-sdrcc.ca/eng/appeal-policies.

Scenario (2): Sport Canada

If the NSO puts forward an athlete’s name and Sport Canada rejects that nomination, the athlete may lodge an appeal within 15 days from the decision date under the appeal procedure outlined in the “AAP Policies and Procedures.”

Before directing you to the general appeal process through the SRDCC, it is important to note that you can also appeal through the internal appeal process of the relevant NSO. Many, though not all, NSO’s have an internal appeal process. The NSO’s internal appeal process is most commonly used when the NSO does not nominate the athlete for carding. The SDRCC encourages the utilization of these processes and has provided guidelines for NSO’s to create their own internal appeal processes.

Step 5: Appeals

If you believe that there were procedural errors in the appeal or facts or circumstances that warrant a further appeal, then you are entitled to file a Request form to the SDRCC in the timeframe provided in the relevant appeal policy, or if no timeframe is specified in the NSO appeal policy, no later than 30 days after the decision was rendered.

The SDRCC Jurisprudence Database (http://www.crdsc-sdrcc.ca/eng/dispute-resource-databases-jurisprudence) provides athletes with the ability to search for cases similar to theirs. This may be useful for determining your chances of a successful appeal. While athletes are free to take this step on their own, we recommend using the legal services available to you, as listed above.

Sport Solution Clinic identifies gaps in the safe sport system for provincial / territorial-level athletes

Posted on 13 March 202415 March 2024 by Jacob Morris

By: Amanda Fowler and Safiya Nanji

In the last year, Canada has seen high-profile abuse scandals across many sports, such as with Hockey Canada, Gymnastics Canada, Boxing Canada, and Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton.

These scandals exposed abusive coaches, institutional mismanagement, and an overall failure for an appropriate response. Athletes, from all levels of sport, have fearlessly come forward with personal stories of abuse and some have filed formal complaints. As a result, the Minister of Sport at the time, Pascale St-Onge, acted. ¹ Minister St-Onge oversaw the implementation of Abuse-Free Sport, Canada’s new independent system for preventing and addressing maltreatment in sport. However, it must be highlighted that this new system does not serve most athletes in Canada. Of those not covered, the most notable are provincial / territorial-level athletes.

Overview of Abuse-Free Sport

Before unpacking how and why provincial/territorial athletes fall into a gray area, it is important to have a general understanding of the Abuse-Free Sport framework. Abuse-Free Sport is composed of three entities:

1) The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (“OSIC”)

2) The Maltreatment in Sport Sanctions Council (“MSSC”)

3) The Director of Sanctions and Outcomes (DSO).

OSIC is an independent third-party body responsible for administering the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) through a trauma-informed process for national athletes and federally-funded National Sport Organizations (NSOs). ² The UCCMS covers a wide range of maltreatment: harassment, psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, grooming, boundary transgressions, discrimination, failure to report, and aiding and abetting in any of the aforementioned acts.

OSIC receives concerns in two manners: 1) individual participants submit complaints of alleged violations of the UCCMS, and 2) individuals or organizations request a sport environment assessment to investigate systemic UCCMS-related issues within a particular sport. Once complaints are adjudicated, the DSO makes decisions about provisional measures and has authority to impose sanctions on program signatories. The MSSC is directly accountable to the Canadian sport community to address discipline and sanctions. The MSSC oversees the operations of the DSO and ensures the DSO applies the UCCMS fairly and consistently, protects and promotes public interest, and ensures for an efficient and effective discipline process. Although each of these bodies are independent, the intent is for them to work together to ensure athletes are protected.

Provincial / Territorial-Level Athletes are Not Covered by Abuse-Free Sport

In 2022, the Federal Government committed $13.8 Million to implement OSIC as the new independent safe sport mechanism. ³ The budget notes state “[f]rom beginners to Olympians, every athlete in Canada should be safe from abuse, harassment, and mistreatment.” ⁴ The notes further state the Federal Government is “ensuring that our sporting institutions across the country are accountable for the treatment of their athletes to building a sport system that promotes the safety and well-being of Canadian athletes.” ⁵

However, with limited exceptions, OSIC only serves national-level athletes – a small fraction of athletes in Canada’s sport system. ⁶ Abuse-Free Sport operates on a federal mandate and has a limited basis of contractual jurisdiction. In effect, it can “only do what it is funded to do and can only carry out the mandate it has been given at this time.” ⁷

NSOs are required by Sport Canada to publish a safe sport policy, adopt the UCCMS, and opt-in to OSIC, failing which they are stripped of funding among other consequences. ⁸ No requirements of this kind are placed on Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PSOs). They may opt-in to OSIC if they wish. As of March 2024, only one NSO – Volleyball Canada – is a program signatory of OSIC with its services available at the National, provincial / territorial and club / local levels. Even if there is proper jurisdiction for a provincial/territorial safe sport matter, OSIC and the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) may still exercise discretion to reject the case.

Notably, OSIC concluded its first year of operations. Of the 193 complaints OSIC received between June 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, only 66 of them, or 34 per cent, were deemed admissible for investigation. ⁹ OISC referred over 50 per cent of complaints to alternative organizations, including provincial/territorial sport bodies. This shows OSIC’s current mandate is limited, and safe sport issues are pervasive within all levels of sport.

The lack of harmonization and OSIC’s statistics suggest that provincial/territorial athletes are not able to be protected until they become national athletes. This can be problematic because athletes, coaches and management move within the Provincial/Territorial and National Sport Organizations. Without proper recourse for athletes in the form of consistent safe sport policies, procedures, and sanctioning across both levels of sport, it is difficult to hold offenders at the provincial/territorial level accountable for athlete maltreatment and athletes are trapped in abusive environments until they make the national team.

Barriers to Reporting Safe Sport Complaints at the Provincial / Territorial Level

At the Sport Solution Clinic, we have seen some of the barriers faced by provincial / territorial athletes who have filed safe sport complaints:

PTSOs intentionally delaying the acceptance of a complaint, the issuance of an investigation report or scheduling a hearing for months;
PTSOs finding opportunities to claim a breach of confidentiality by the athlete in order to have the complaint struck;
PTSOs have conducted their own internal safe sport process while being in a conflict of interest;
The safe sport process not being trauma-informed;
PTSOs appointing individuals with no prior adjudication experience to the arbitration panel despite objections;
No recourse for athletes whose PTSO has breached procedural fairness during the safe sport process;
Appeals are directed back to the PTSO for further handling because there is no appeal right to an independent body like OSIC or the SDRCC;
Decisions are arbitrary and have no “reasons” to support a decided sanction; and
PTSOs have no requirement to publish sanctions, which is an issue of public safety for those who may interact with the sanctioned coach in the future.

To our knowledge, issues like these are regular and constant for provincial/territorial athletes making safe sport complaints. It is unacceptable.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Provincial/Territorial governments clearly need to intervene in the safe sport processes of PTSOs. It can start bridging the gap by mandating PTSOs to adopt the UCCMS and join OSIC. A consistent, fair, and accountable safe sport mechanism serving both provincial/territorial and national levels of sport is necessary to remedy the issues listed above (and others). To do so may require collaboration and funding between federal and provincial/territorial governments, National and Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations – and most importantly – involving provincial/territorial athletes.

Footnotes

Sport Solution Clinic Blog: The Relationship Between National Sport Organizations and Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations

Posted on 29 February 202411 March 2024 by Jacob Morris

By Nic Spagnuolo (Case Manager), Eli Hutchison (Caseworker)

National Sport Organizations (NSOs) are the governing bodies for sport within Canada. Among their responsibilities, NSOs work closely with Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs) to implement policies and promote their sport at the regional / grassroots level. ¹ PTSOs are self-governing organizations that are responsible for the development of their sport, providing a competitive pathway for athlete development at the provincial or territorial level, selecting provincial/territorial teams, recruiting and training coaches and officials, and conducting provincial/territorial championships. ². In working towards these objectives, a PTSO is overseen by an NSO, where the NSO sets out rules that the PTSO must follow. The relationship between an NSO overseeing a PTSO is demonstrated through how a PTSO must align with the rules of their NSO, as well as how funding works between them. Additionally, there are implications to this relationship when a member league under a PTSO decides to break away from an NSO.

Alignment with NSO Rules

In regulating sport at the provincial level, a PTSO must ensure that they are complying with the regulations of their NSO regarding rules of play, competition, scoring, equipment, the field of play, and the requirements set out for athletes, coaches, officials and referees. ³ An example of this is the new policy that Hockey Canada, the NSO for ice hockey in Canada, recently implemented regarding dressing room requirements. Effective as of September 12, 2023, Hockey Canada issued a new “Dressing Room Policy” with the purpose of creating a safe, inclusive and equitable dressing room space. ⁴ Under this policy, all participants are required to wear minimum attire at all times in a dressing room when there is more than one participant present, such as wearing shorts or compression shorts along with a t-shirt. ⁵ Additionally, this policy includes the “Rule of Two”, which requires two adults to be present either in or immediately outside the dressing room to ensure that the dressing room environment among participants is free from any discrimination, harassment, bullying, or other forms of maltreatment. ⁶

With Hockey Canada implementing this policy, PTSOs for ice hockey throughout the country are responsible for ensuring that all of their leagues and member associations are adhering to the new dressing room rules. This demonstrates how an NSO can use their oversight over their PTSOs to regulate their sport down to the provincial level.

Funding Between an NSO and a PTSO

Additionally, there is a funding component in the relationship between an NSO and a PTSO. How funding works between them can be demonstrated by again using Hockey Canada as an example.

Each player in a league operated by a PTSO for ice hockey, which falls under the governance of Hockey Canada, must pay a fee as part of their agreement for participation that goes towards Hockey Canada. ⁷ Hockey Canada then uses these fees to help fund their operations at the PTSO level, which includes funding programs for grassroot development, as well as development programs for coaches and officials in these leagues. ⁸ Hockey Canada has many additional sources of funding to finance their operations, such as national and international events, sponsorships, government and non-governmental funding, and donations. ⁹ Part of Hockey Canada’s operations that this financing goes towards, is providing funding to their PTSOs to help operate ice hockey at the provincial/territorial level. This includes providing funding to PTSOs for matters regarding the development of ice hockey across the country, helping to build and maintain the necessary facilities across the country for ice hockey, and to provide PTSOs with the necessary technological equipment for the sport. ¹⁰ As seen from looking at Hockey Canada, an essential component to the relationship between an NSO and a PTSO is the funding provided by the NSO to help the sport be played, regulated, and developed to the highest quality at the provincial and grassroots level across the country.

What Happens When a Member League / Organization / Club Breaks Away from a PTSO and an NSO

Although this relationship does allow an NSO to regulate their sport across the country, there can be instances where a member league, organization or club under a PTSO breaks away from the overseeing NSO. For example, on June 1, 2023, the Board of Governors for the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) opted out of renewing their membership with Hockey Canada. ¹¹ The move came after years of failed negotiations, where the BCHL tried to persuade Hockey Canada to change some of its policies concerning Under-18 (U18) players. ¹² Specifically, the BCHL felt that these policies limited the chances of some U18 players from pursuing the option of playing ice hockey in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). ¹³ As such, out of a desire to create more opportunities for players to play varsity ice hockey in the NCAA, the BCHL decided to not renew their agreement with Hockey Canada. ¹⁴

Under this move, the BCHL will also no longer be a member of BC Hockey, the PTSO that governs ice hockey in British Columbia under Hockey Canada. ¹⁵ This means that the BCHL will now operate as a fully independent league and will not be subjected to oversight from either BC Hockey or Hockey Canada. Without the oversight of Hockey Canada, players on any team in the BCHL will no longer be able to participate in Hockey Canada events, which include provincial and national championship tournaments. ¹⁶

Additionally, players in the BCHL will no longer be able to submit claims of abuse or maltreatment to Abuse-Free Sport and the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) or to Hockey Canada’s independent third party. ¹⁷ As a result, the BCHL will need to create their own separate system for safe sport policies and for how to deal with any safe sport complaints, which may not be consistent with the policies in place from Hockey Canada and their respective PTSOs. As seen in this example, the relationship between an NSO, PTSOs and leagues at the grassroots level is essential in an NSO having the ability to regulate and govern sport at all levels throughout the country.

Citations

The SDRCC, OSIC, NSOs, PTSOs, Sport Solution Clinic, and You

Posted on 14 February 202411 March 2024 by Jacob Morris

By Tyler Rogerson (Case Manager), Isabella DiMenna (Caseworker), Nicholas Burton (Caseworker)

Key Takeaways

Provides an overview of the different administrative bodies and stakeholders that govern and regulate national-level sports in Canada
Outlines the legal resources that are available to members of AthletesCAN

Canada’s National Team athletes are busy! Between training, competitions, recovery, and finding time to decompress, AthletesCAN members have demanding schedules. To make matters more complicated, Canadian athletes may be faced with legal challenges throughout their career. These issues may include disagreements over team selection, concerns regarding Athlete Assistance Program funding, Safe Sport disputes, and disagreements over disciplinary measures.

This blog post will provide Canadian athletes with an overview of the various administrative bodies that govern and regulate high -performance sports in Canada and how they interact with one another. Ultimately, Canadian athletes should know that the Sport Solution Clinic at Western Law exists to provide all members of AthletesCAN with pro bono (free!) legal advice and representation and can assist them in the resolution of their sport-related legal issues.

The Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC)

The SDRCC is created by the Physical Activity and Sport Act,¹ and provides alternative dispute resolution for sport-related disputes in Canada.² In essence, the SDRCC is an administrative body that is responsible for mediating and arbitrating sport-related disputes involving Canadian national team athletes; however, the SDRCC will only become involved after the disputing parties have exhausted their sport’s internal dispute resolution processes. All disputes submitted to the SDRCC are governed by the Canadian Sport Dispute Resolution Code (the Code) which “outlines the procedural rules under which all disputes submitted to SDRCC must [adhere to].”³ The most recent version of the Code (which applies to all SDRCC cases opened after 1 October 2023) can be found here and will be useful for any member of AthletesCAN who would like to bring a dispute to the SDRCC.

The SDRCC offers four different dispute resolution methods: resolution facilitation, mediation, arbitration, and mediation/arbitration.⁴ Resolution facilitation involves a neutral facilitator “whose role is to try to help the parties to better communicate with each other and to resolve their dispute through an amicable settlement.”⁵ Similarly, mediation involves a neutral third party who focuses on facilitating a resolution between disputing parties rather than on promoting communication. Mediation will only end a dispute if the disputing parties agree to a resolution.⁶ The process of arbitration, however, is significantly more structured and “employs a neutral third party to hear the evidence and decide for the disputants how their conflict should be resolved.”⁷ It is important to note that resolving disputes by arbitration will not be collaborative and the arbitrator’s decision will only favour one of the parties.⁸ Lastly, mediation/arbitration is a hybrid dispute resolution mechanism that may ultimately result in arbitration. In this mechanism, both parties are given the opportunity to first resolve their issues through mediation. If the mediation process is unsuccessful, both parties will be required to have their dispute resolved by arbitration.⁹

Beyond its role as an administrative tribunal, the SDRCC aims to educate Canadian national team athletes and provide them with the “tools and guidance to help resolve minor disputes quickly and informally.”¹⁰ The SDRCC is committed to proactively connecting with key stakeholders in the AthletesCAN community through the publication of resources, hosting of workshops, and the distribution of educational material about how to best prevent and resolve disputes at the lowest levels.¹¹

For more information on the SDRCC, please visit the SDRCC website.

The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC)

The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner is an independent division of the SDRCC which aims to promote Safe Sport and implement the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) across Canada.¹²

The UCCMS was first published in 2015 and “is the core document that sets harmonized rules to be adopted by sport organizations that receive funding from the Government of Canada to advance a respectful sport culture that delivers quality, inclusive, accessible, welcoming and safe sport experiences.” ¹³All sporting organizations that have adopted the UCCMS are held accountable by the OSIC to ensure that their sporting environments are free of misconduct and are spaces where all community members are treated “with dignity and respect.”¹⁴

The OSIC enforces the UCCMS in two ways: complaint management and through Sport Environment Assessments. The complaint management process focuses on individuals and involves receiving complaints, conducting initial assessments and independent investigations, imposing sanctions, and providing access to legal and mental health support.¹⁵Through its complaint management system, the OSIC has established a mechanism for members of the AthletesCAN community to ensure that they can report and address instances of maltreatment and misconduct.¹⁶

Sport Environment Assessments are broader in scope than the complaints handled by the complaint management process. The Assessments aim to investigate and address systemic issues of maltreatment and misconduct which contravene the UCCMS in a particular sport. Sport Environment Assessments are intended “to look for the truth, seek to understand the problem and its root causes, and then look at possible solutions, all of which are ultimately presented in a published report.”¹⁷

Both the complaint management and Sport Environment Assessment processes are designed to complement one another and aim to achieve the same fundamental goal of eliminating maltreatment and abuse within Canadian sports and ensuring compliance with the UCCMS.¹⁸

For more information on OSIC, please visit the OSIC Website.

National Sport Organizations (NSOs) and Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs)

National Sport Organizations (NSOs) are “the national government bodies for [a] given sport in Canada.”¹⁹ At the time of the publication of this blog post, there are 63 federally-funded NSOs in Canada. Although they have many important functions, NSOs manage their sport’s high -performance programs, select their sport’s National Team(s), and manage the promotion of their sport across the country.²⁰ Further, NSOs can directly assist athletes through the Athlete Assistance Program which supplies government funding directly to Canadian athletes nominated by their NSOs.²¹ A full list of the NSOs can be found on the Government of Canada website.

Notably, many NSOs have provincial and territorial counterparts, Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs), which have similar functions to NSOs. An athlete can interact with both their NSO and PTSO at different stages of their career and may even interact with both administrative bodies simultaneously. Due to the significant role that NSOs and PTSOs have in the development, mentoring, and success of their athletes, legal issues can arise between the parties over team selection, funding, and disciplinary measures. It is at this point that the parties may rely on the intervention of the SDRCC and the OSIC and members of AthletesCAN may turn to the Sport Solution Clinic for legal advice and representation.

Ultimately, NSOs, PTSOs, and athletes must work collaboratively within the guidelines of the SDRCC and the OSIC to advance the success of their respective sports and the safety of their sporting environments.

Western Law’s Sport Solution Clinic

Western Law’s Sport Solution Clinic provides pro bono (free!) legal advice and representation to Canada’s National Team athletes. The Sport Solution Clinic is unique as it is the “only program of its kind in North America and is available to all members of AthletesCAN.”²² The Clinic is dedicated to assisting Canada’s national team athletes in navigating the myriad administrative bodies and systems that govern their sports and provide access to the legal remedies available to them.

The Clinic is supervised by its Supervising Lawyer, Amanda Fowler, and is supported by a staff of 25 students at Western Law. Together, the team at the Sport Solution Clinic provides legal support on a wide variety of legal issues including general inquiries, team selection, Athlete Assistance Program funding, appeals, Safe Sport, discipline disputes, and preparation for mediation and arbitration through the SDRCC.

Ultimately, the Sport Solution Clinic exists to provide free legal assistance to Canada’s national athletes so they can focus on their sporting pursuits and reach their goals on the world’s biggest stages. For more information on the Sport Solution Clinic, please visit the Clinic’s website or contact us at [email protected].

Footnotes

AthletesCAN, Western Law unveil new Sport Solution brand, relaunch legal Clinic’s blog

Posted on 31 January 202414 March 2024 by Jacob Morris

TORONTO / LONDON, Ont. – AthletesCAN, the association of Canada’s national team athletes, and the Faculty of Law at Western University, are proud to unveil a new brand for Sport Solution and relaunch the legal Clinic’s official blog on AthletesCAN.ca.

The new Sport Solution logo consists of the official AthletesCAN emblem – a triumphant athlete silhouetted within a red maple leaf – carefully centred within a black pillar, symbolizing the strength and stability of justice. The brand is completed with a wordmark lockup in the traditional colours of AthletesCAN and Western University – red, black and white, and purple – respectively.

The new mark gives the Clinic a more unique and distinct brand, while still maintaining its ties to both AthletesCAN and Western.

"AthletesCAN is excited to support Sport Solution as they continue growing and innovating in the ways they aid our members. For nearly 30 years, we have worked with Western Law to bring free legal information, advice, and guidance on sport-related issues to Team Canada’s athletes through this unique and innovative partnership. Today's announcement helps make Sport Solution accessible to an even greater number of athletes, by ensuring their wealth of legal knowledge is available in an easy to access and understand format."

Erin Willson - AthletesCAN President

In addition, the Sport Solution Blog is being relaunched on the official AthletesCAN website, following its initial run during the 2020-21 academic year. The blog will be authored by the Clinic’s Program Managers, and aims to share various expertise, stories, learnings, insights and information to empower national team athletes to make information decisions and assert their rights in legal disputes.

“We are excited about the opportunity for this new brand and platform to build further connections between the Clinic and AthletesCAN members. The updated logo is a reflection of our growth, success and relentless effort in the past four years, where we have become more widely known for protecting athletes' rights in all forms of legal settings - including high-profile and precedent-setting decisions for the sport community. The blog will help us continue to improve access to this information and awareness of the Clinic and its services.”

Amanda Fowler - Award-winning Supervising Lawyer of Sport Solution

The Sport Solution Blog will be published on a biweekly basis until the end of the academic year in April.

Sport Solution was founded in 1996, when AthletesCAN joined forces with the Sports Law Centre, the Faculty of Law at Western, and the Dispute Resolution Centre. The program is the only one of its kind in North America, and is available free for all members, providing relevant information, assistance and guidance on sport issues that may require legal counsel.

“Western Law is grateful for its ongoing partnership with AthletesCAN. The Sport Solution Clinic provides a unique experiential learning opportunity to our students. They can build their practical skills while making important contributions to the lives of amateur athletes and advocacy for safe sport.”

Erika Chamberlain - Dean of Western Law

Canadian national team athletes are invited to register and attend this winter’s AthletesCAN National Team Athlete Town Halls to give feedback on their athlete experiences. All Town Halls are taking place at local members of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network. A full schedule of Town Halls is available here.

About Sport Solution

Sport Solution is committed to supporting an athlete-centred sport system and strives to achieve this objective by counselling and advocating on behalf of Canada’s high performance athletes so their voices are well represented when resolving sport related issues that affect them.

About AthletesCAN

AthletesCAN ensures an athlete-centered sport system by developing athlete leaders who influence sport policy and, as role models, inspire a strong sport culture, through educational resources, support, training and professional development.

For more information, please contact:

Alan Hudes
Manager, Communications and Sport Partnerships
AthletesCAN
613-526-4025 Ext. 224
[email protected]

Kaleigh Rodgers
Communications Specialist
Western Law
519-661-2111 Ext. 82126
[email protected]

Sport Solution Clinic supports public accountability in gymnastics

Posted on 5 December 202321 December 2023 by Alan Hudes

By Amanda Fowler (Supervising Lawyer) and Laura Wade (Program Manager)

In the longest case AthletesCAN and Western Law’s Sport Solution Clinic (the clinic) has ever been involved with, a former Gymnastics Canada coach, Elvira Saadi, has been banned from coaching athletes for life.

This decision is the first to order a lifetime ban for non-sexual abuse in Canada. It is also the first decision to be made public (a marked departure from Gymnastics Canada’s ‘practice’ of keeping them confidential).

Ms. Saadi was found to have abused athletes through physical, emotional and psychological abuse. This included making disparaging comments about the athletes’ bodies, restricting food and water intake, and instilling fear that became normalized within the gymnastics community. This is significant in the growing safe-sport movement as it recognizes that other forms of abuse, such as emotional and psychological abuse, will no longer be tolerated in sport.

All forms of abuse and maltreatment should be taken seriously, and this decision demonstrates that continuous emotional and psychological abuse will not be sanctioned lightly.

To provide the history of the clinic’s involvement with the matter, the investigation into Ms. Saadi by an external investigator began in November 2020 and the investigation report was issued in April 2022. The case manager recommended that the complaints be referred to a Gymnastics Canada Discipline Committee for disciplinary action.

After an unsuccessful mediation, all the parties (each of whom were represented by counsel) agreed the investigation report would be adopted by the panel as findings of fact. This left the panel to decide the applicable sanction.

Prior to that sanctioning process, both Gymnastics Canada and Ms. Saadi brought motions: Gymnastics Canada disputed whether our client was a proper complainant in the proceeding, and Ms. Saadi sought to quash the hearing based on lack of jurisdiction, apprehension of bias and procedural fairness because of an alleged fee agreement where Gymnastics Canada paid the other complainants’ lawyer fees. (Of note, we were never paid by Gymnastics Canada).

Our client filed responding submissions and was successful in dismissing the requests. In fact, Gymnastics Canada had argued that it ‘becomes’ the complainants and should have carriage and control of the proceedings on their behalf going forward. The panel disagreed. Gymnastics Canada was given a participatory role, and not the ‘party’ status it sought.

At the end of the sanctioning process, the panel issued the following sanction:

A full suspension of membership from Gymnastics Canada and any Provincial Governing Body for Gymnastics in Canada for 10 years with credit served for the provisional suspension period.
Required to complete ethics and healthy coaching education as well as demonstrate a full understanding of Gymnastics Canada’s Code of Ethics and Conduct among other conditions for reinstatement.
If the above conditions are met, permitted to return to training coaches only. She is prohibited from having direct contact or engagement with athletes in any manner.

Given the duration of this case (three years, including a 13-month investigation) it was overseen by three cohorts of the clinic’s program managers: graduated program managers Tyler Matthews, Brittany Bates, and Rheanna Geisel, and current program managers Laura Wade, Dylan Romero-Marshall and Hannah Herrington.

The clinic’s supervising lawyer, Amanda Fowler, was the lawyer of record and Dr. Emir Crowne joined us as co-counsel for the motions and sanctioning hearing.

Canadian Living: This is how Sport Solution Supervising Lawyer Amanda Fowler plays hardball – and wins

Posted on 2 November 202321 December 2023 by Alan Hudes

By Katia Gorshkova

As a woman in a fast-paced, male-dominated industry, Amanda Fowler is no stranger to working under pressure (and thriving while doing it).

As a Toronto-based sports lawyer, Amanda Fowler has been in the game for seven years and isn’t afraid to play hardball. She represents a range of athletes, both Canadian and international, and tackles a variety of cases, from human rights to safe sport complaints.As a woman in a fast-paced, male-dominated industry, Amanda Fowler relates to the struggles we all face at one point or another: how do we deal with double standards? Where do we draw the line between personal and professional lives? How to set up boundaries?

To get the answers to these questions, we had a chat with Amanda, asking just what a day in her life looks like and how she manages to win in all areas. (Hint: it takes teamwork).

Former AthletesCAN President Dasha Peregoudova : Athlete abuse testimony needs to be turned into action

Posted on 10 September 202321 December 2023 by Alan Hudes

RICHMOND, B.C. – A national inquiry into safe sport is not necessarily the answer to helping Canadian athletes, according to a former member of the country’s taekwondo team and ombudsperson for Canada for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Dasha Peregoudova, former AthletesCAN President and the director of sanctions and outcomes for Abuse-Free Sport, said Saturday that Canada has gone through a national reckoning of abuse in sport, adding work now needs to be done with what the public has heard.

“I have not had, myself, those experiences those athletes had … I don’t want to trivialize that,” she said of Canadian athletes who have spoken out about abuse and misconduct.

“My reservation about a national inquiry is not that it’s not a good use of time or resources, I just have some sense that it would say what we already know which is that there are rampant safe sport issues in sport and that we need to do something about it.”

Her comments to The Canadian Press came after she, lawyer Amanda Fowler and former athletes Chris de Sousa Costa and Josh Vander Vies participated in a panel discussing governance in Canadian sports held by AthletesCAN.

Speaker lineup unveiled for 2023 AthletesCAN Forum and 46th Canadian Sport Awards

Posted on 29 August 202321 December 2023 by Alan Hudes

TORONTO / VANCOUVER – AthletesCAN, the association of Canada’s national team athletes, is pleased to announce its lineup of speakers for the upcoming 2023 AthletesCAN Forum and 46^th Canadian Sport Awards in Vancouver.

Kicking off the first in-person AthletesCAN Forum weekend since 2019, veteran CBC Sports host Scott Russell will helm this year’s celebration of trailblazers, athlete-centred accomplishments and initiatives – as the Canadian Sport Awards take place on the evening of Friday, Sept. 8, with five notable winners recognized at the Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel in Richmond, B.C.

Saturday’s festivities will begin with a panel entitled Reshaping Governance in the Modern Era, featuring:

Chris de Sousa Costa – AthletesCAN Board Member, Karate
Amanda Fowler – Founder, Amanda Fowler Sports Law; Supervising Lawyer, Sport Solution Clinic
Dasha Peregoudova – Former AthletesCAN President, Taekwondo; Partner, Aird & Berlis LLP
Josh Vander Vies – Paralympian / Former AthletesCAN President, Boccia; Versus Law Corporation

Following the panel, Queen’s University adjunct assistant professor Shai Dubey of the Smith School of Business – the Official National Business Education partner of the Canadian Olympic Committee and a founding partner of Game Plan, Canada’s Total Athlete Wellness Program, helping athletes plan for success beyond sport – will lead an engagement session focusing on bridging the gap between athletes and National Sport Organizations entitled Personalizing Your Journey.

In addition to this distinguished lineup of speakers, the 2023 AthletesCAN Forum will also include key athlete-centred roundtables and workshops exclusively for Athlete Representatives and Directors – with the ultimate goal of strengthening alignment across the Canadian Sport System, following significant reforms announced in May aimed at improving governance, transparency and accountability. The event is made possible in part by the generous contribution of Richmond Sport Hosting.

Nominees for each of the Canadian Sport Awards will also be released over the coming days.

Following Forum, a national digital campaign in partnership with CBC Sports along with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees for the People’s Choice Award for Most Trending Moment of the Year will take place in December, after the conclusion of the 2023 Pan American and Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Further details surrounding the 2023 AthletesCAN Annual General Meeting and Board Election, slated for the fall, will be announced at a later date.

About the AthletesCAN Forum

The annual AthletesCAN Forum is the largest and most inclusive gathering of Canada’s national team athlete leaders outside of competition. It brings together Canada’s high-performance athletes and sport leaders to learn about the sport system, develop leadership skills, share ideas and network through interactive workshops, seminars and presentations.

About the Canadian Sport Awards

The Canadian Sport Awards were established in 1972 by modern day co-founders True Sport, Canadian Centre for Ethics and Sport, Canada Games Council, Commonwealth Sport Canada, and AthletesCAN to recognize and showcase excellence in Canadian sport. Since then, the CSA evolved over time to become the premier recognition event for national sporting excellence. After the 40th anniversary, the awards experienced a five-year hiatus. In 2017, AthletesCAN successfully acquired the rights to revive this staple event to once again bring together members of the sport community to honour the spirit, drive, and commitment of Canada’s international level athletes, coaches, volunteers, and sport leaders.

About AthletesCAN

AthletesCAN, the association of Canada’s national team athletes, is the only fully independent and most inclusive athlete organization in the country and the first organization of its kind in the world.  As the voice of over 6,000 current and recently retired Canadian national team athletes, AthletesCAN membership spans 68 sports across the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan/Parapan American, and Commonwealth Games, and those currently funded by Sport Canada competing at Senior World Championships. AthletesCAN ensures an athlete-centered sport system by developing athlete leaders who influence sport policy and, as role models, inspire a strong sport culture, through educational resources, support, training and professional development.

For more information, please contact:

Alan Hudes
Manager, Communications and Sport Partnerships
AthletesCAN
613-526-4025 Ext. 224
[email protected]

By: Tucker Seabrook (Case Manager), Alexandra Marshall (Caseworker) and Jonah Wilson (Caseworker)

Safe Sport in Canada

Safe Sport and Female Athletes

Equity, Not Erasure

Conclusion and Recommendations

Citations

By: Robyn Jeffries (Case Manager), Brayden Mulhern (Caseworker) & Daniel Torch (Caseworker)

Step 1: Seek Legal Advice

Step 2: Understanding the Carding Process

Step 3: Understanding the Potential Points of Rejection

Step 4: Understand Your Options

Step 5: Appeals

By: Amanda Fowler and Safiya Nanji

Overview of Abuse-Free Sport

Provincial / Territorial-Level Athletes are Not Covered by Abuse-Free Sport

Barriers to Reporting Safe Sport Complaints at the Provincial / Territorial Level

Conclusion and Recommendations

Footnotes

By Nic Spagnuolo (Case Manager), Eli Hutchison (Caseworker)

Alignment with NSO Rules

Funding Between an NSO and a PTSO

What Happens When a Member League / Organization / Club Breaks Away from a PTSO and an NSO

Citations

By Tyler Rogerson (Case Manager), Isabella DiMenna (Caseworker), Nicholas Burton (Caseworker) ​​

Key Takeaways​

The Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC)

The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC)

National Sport Organizations (NSOs) and Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs)

Western Law’s Sport Solution Clinic

Footnotes

About Sport Solution

About AthletesCAN

By Amanda Fowler (Supervising Lawyer) and Laura Wade (Program Manager)

About the AthletesCAN Forum

About the Canadian Sport Awards

About AthletesCAN

CONTACT US

By Tyler Rogerson (Case Manager), Isabella DiMenna (Caseworker), Nicholas Burton (Caseworker)

Key Takeaways