This federal program was supposed to investigate abuse of Canadian athletes. An advocate says it’s not working

“When it comes to trauma and their livelihood and their work, you don’t get a dress rehearsal. Meaning, we shouldn’t have started this unless we were ready,” said Allison Forsyth, founder of Generation Safe, a leader in safe sport education and consulting. 

“I truly don’t believe that Abuse-Free Sport was ready to handle this.”

The Abuse-Free Sport program was launched in July 2021 to address the growing crisis of maltreatment and abuse in Canada’s sport system. As part of its funding and mandate from the federal government through Sport Canada, the program launched the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) in April 2022 to investigate and sanction individual cases of abuse through an independent reporting system.

The commissioner investigates complaints primarily at the national level, allowing provincial, territorial and local sport groups to handle complaints on their own or through third-parties.

But Forsyth said a lack of education and poor communication from the program to the general public and organizations around what should be reported, where to file complaints and a lack resources to properly handle these complaints means the system is not working. 

“We do not educate people nearly well enough on the forms of maltreatment” which often decides where a complaint gets submitted, she said. In addition, organizations are worried about liability, prompting them to forward all complaints, often to the wrong investigating body, Forsyth said. A better system is needed so everyone can understand what “actually qualifies as a minor infraction versus a major infraction and also what is a microaggression,” she said.

The March report — the result of questions raised by Liberal MP and former Sport Minister Kirsty Duncan — sheds light on some of the problems.

The documents, tabled in March, show Sport Canada was aware of 149 cases of reported abuse since 2018, including sexual maltreatment, psychological maltreatment and sexual maltreatment of minors, but did not report these to the integrity commissioner. Sport Canada said it was the responsibility of national sports organizations to report allegations of abuse. 

But it is not clear if the sports organization did report the allegations or if the cases were ever investigated. Sport Canada did not respond by deadline to the Star’s questions into the status of these cases.

Duncan told the Star the high number of cases and uncertain outcomes shows Canada’s current system for reporting abuse in sport leaves many questions unanswered.

“For the past 50 years, we’ve had a sport system in this country that has let down athletes and young people far too often, and it continues to do so,” she said. 

“I think the time is now for elected officials to lead a comprehensive, thorough investigation of the system and deliver solutions for safer sport.”

Forsyth said the government is also falling short on its responsibility to ensure that OSIC has the resources it needs to properly manage its mandate.

In its first year report, released last summer, OSIC said it received 193 cases and investigated 22. Its next report is due out in July. 

“It’s not just the money, it’s funding it with the proper systems and resources and case managers,” she said, adding that the provincial, territorial and federal governments are not doing enough.

Duncan hopes The Future of Sport in Canada Commission, announced by Minister of Sport Carla Qualtrough in December, will be able to address many of the issues.

An update on how and when the 18-month commission into safe sport will conduct its review is expected to be delivered by Qualtrough on Thursday.

“There is an opportunity to really explore the darkest corners of the sports system,” Duncan said. “If we get the right recommendation, we can build a safer sports system and time is of the essence.”

“We’re at a reckoning point.”