Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge says $16-million will help eliminate abuse of Canadian athletes
Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge says $16-million in the budget to help stamp out maltreatment and sexual abuse in sport is “just one step” to ensure Canada’s athletes feel safe and that their voices will be heard.
The money will underpin an independent mechanism for Canadian athletes to report maltreatment, abuse and discrimination, and receive advice.This month several players in a minor hockey league in Gatineau, Que., were suspended after a black player, Anthony Allain-Samake, said he was racially abused. The independent safe sport mechanism implemented by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada will have powers to independently investigate allegations by athletes and refer them to the police if needed.
This would allow adults and young people involved in amateur sports such as hockey, gymnastics, swimming, and track and field to call on the centre for help.She said it’s “just one step to change the sport culture” adding that “athletes’ voices are essential” in the drive to make sports safe. St-Onge has held two roundtable discussions about the issue of abuse in sport following a barrage of complaints from athletes.