Canada’s sport system ‘broken’ and in need of change: Report

A new national report on how abuse and maltreatment are handled in sport says “Canadian sport has lost its way” and the federal government must to act in order to better protect athletes across the country.

The Future of Sport in Canada Commission released its preliminary report Thursday, saying it heard that there are “deeply ingrained” issues across the country, from a culture of silence that has led to abuse and maltreatment to underfunding and a lack of diversity.

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“The first finding that emerges … is that the Canadian sports system is in crisis,” commissioner Lise Maisonneuve said at a press conference in Ottawa. “As many have told us, it is broken.”

Maisonneuve, former chief justice of the Ontario Court of Justice, was tasked with leading the commission after it was created by the federal government in 2023 in response to athletes speaking out about systemic abuse.

The commission visited a dozen cities, heard from more than 825 people and received more than 1,000 written submissions and survey responses before writing its report.

Issues they heard about included meagre funding, archaic governance, and a problematic focus on high-performance sports.

They also heard about abuse and maltreatment of athletes, ranging from physical punishment and sexual assault, to humiliation and intimidation, to failure to provide medical care and training while injured.

“These deeply ingrained issues give rise to conflicts of interest, favouritism, a win at all costs thinking and a pervasive fear of losing funding across the system,” Maisonneuve said.

“Together, they fuel a long-standing culture of silence in sport, a culture that has persisted largely due to the historical normalization of harmful practices, entrenched cultural norms, power dynamics and the lack of diversity of some sporting environments.”

The report set out 71 recommendations for change, including that Ottawa create an independent body tasked with the oversight, administration, co-ordination and strategic leadership of sport and physical activity across the country.

It recommends the entity be either a Crown corporation or a not-for-profit created by federal legislation, which could lay out the body’s responsibilities.

Other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand have similar bodies, the report noted.

Efforts to address abuse and maltreatment in sport have long been plagued by jurisdictional issues.

Currently, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport investigates only cases tied to national, federally funded programs, leaving lower levels to their own patchwork systems.

Of 111 reports that came into the CCES in the first quart of this year, only 11 were deemed admissible by the CCES, and 82 were dismissed because they were not at the national, federally funded level.

Several of the Future of Sport in Canada’s commission’s recommendations look to remedy jurisdictional issues.

Ottawa needs to work with provincial and territorial governments to create a national safe sport authority or tribunal that would administer all federal, provincial and territorial safe sport legislation, the report said.

“We can have a uniform, centralized system in Canada to deal with complaints mechanism, so that it is transparent, open, and that people understand where to go,” Maisonneuve said.

The report also said Ottawa needs to mandate background screening requirements or develop a standardized background screening policy to be used by sports organizations that receive federal funding.

Governments have been prompted to act by athletes and witnesses who came forward with their stories of abuse, harassment and discrimination, Maisonneuve said, but “transformative and profound” change is now needed.

“We must seize this opportunity that we have,” she said. “We heard that people want to have a better system and are interested to work together.

“It’s time for Canada to shine on the podium, but also across this nation in hockey arenas, soccer fields, gymnastic clubs, pickleball courts, just to name a few. Let’s build on the current momentum.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2025.