The Future of Sport in Canada Commission starts tackling the countryB次元官网网址檚 safe-sport crisis later this month with the first of nine hearings.

Federal sports minister Carla Qualtrough announced in late 2023 that the commissionB次元官网网址檚 mandate will be to learn from Canadians, including victims and survivors of abuse and maltreatment, about their experience in and with sports.

The commissionB次元官网网址檚 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-Qu茅b茅cois MP Sebastien Lemire continued to urge for a public inquiry Thursday in the House of Commons.

B次元官网网址淭his voluntary commission is no more than an advisory body,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t has no real powers to bring about significant change.B次元官网网址�

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.

B次元官网网址淕iven that sport is a shared jurisdiction between municipal and regional, territorial, provincial governments and jurisdictions, a public inquiry would have required months of negotiating with provinces,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲ith the commission, the work is already underway.B次元官网网址�

The commission is led by Lise Maisonneuve, who is a former chief justice of the Ontario Court of Justice.

B次元官网网址淎s sport permeates most of our lives, the Future of Sport in Canada Commission looks forward to engaging directly with Canadians across the country, including at the grassroot level, to gather more insights and perspectives regarding their experience in and with sport,B次元官网网址� Maisonneuve said Thursday in a statement.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 high-performance sport system has undergone a reckoning since athletes exited BeijingB次元官网网址檚 Winter Olympics in 2022.

Athletes spoke to parliamentary committees of current and historical instances of abuse B次元官网网址� mental, verbal, physical and sexual B次元官网网址� and fear of retribution for reporting it.

Members of Parliament heard athlete welfare took a back seat to the pursuit of medals.

Hockey Canada became a lightning rod for what Qualtrough and her predecessor Pascale St-Onge called a safe sport crisis in the country after allegations of sexual assault by members of the national junior menB次元官网网址檚 hockey team at a 2018 gala.

Those allegations have not been proven in court. Five players, who all went on to play in the NHL, go before a jury trial next year.

Revelations that Hockey Canada had reached a settlement with the complainant and that the organization used a portion of registration fees to pay out such settlements, amplified calls for sport culture change.

The commission will operate for 18 months, produce two reports and will hold a national summit.

Qualtrough has compared the sport commissionB次元官网网址檚 work to that of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which between 2007 and 2015 investigated harm caused by residential schools, and proposed both solutions to that harm and prevention of further abuse of Indigenous Peoples.

Athletes Empowered, formerly Gymnasts For Change, lobbied for a public inquiry.

Managing director Amelia Cline hopes the commission will conclude one is needed, but in the meantime, she says sheB次元官网网址檚 already met with Maisonneuve.

B次元官网网址淲e are very eager to see this commission not just produce a report that sits on the shelf, that it actually needs to have meaningful recommendations,B次元官网网址� Cline said.

The commission wonB次元官网网址檛 have the power to compel people to speak to Maisonneuve, she said.

B次元官网网址淭here needs to be a safe space for survivors to share their stories, but there also needs to be a forum in which the sport organizations that have allowed this crisis to continue are actually held accountable, and their feet are held to the fire, which seems to be lacking in this commission process,B次元官网网址� Cline said.

B次元官网网址淔rom our perspective, the commission is what we have right now, and we will support our survivor community to engage with it if they wish to, but our concern is that itB次元官网网址檚 still not going to have the teeth that it needs to.B次元官网网址�

The commission has a public online submission portal for athletes, parents, coaches, officials, administrators, academics, subject-matter experts and sports-related organizations who want to participate.

There are options to take a survey, write to the commission and speak to the commission.

Hearings will be held in-camera B次元官网网址渢o provide a safe forum for participants to freely share their experiences and opinionsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渁llow participants to meet with the commission without certain information being recorded in any form.B次元官网网址�