‘We should be really ashamed’: Former minister urges Canada to act on report about abuse in sport

Then-minister of sport and physical activity Carla Qualtrough speaks at a news conference on the Future of Sport in Canada Commission, at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

A former minister of sport says Canadians should feel “ashamed” over years of abuse and mismanagement in the country’s athletic system, calling for urgent reform in response to the Future of Sport in Canada Commission’s latest report released Thursday.

“I am incredibly grateful to the commission for their work. I’m incredibly grateful to the survivors and victims who bravely participated in a process that they had no reason to trust,” Carla Qualtrough told CTV News Channel in an interview Thursday.

“We need to always keep fighting for the sport we want in this country,” she added.

The independent commission was struck after years of allegations of abuse, harassment and unsafe environments across Canadian sport. Its preliminary report found that the system has “lost its way” and recommended sweeping change like stronger oversight, greater funding and accountability.

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 384-page report, which included 71 recommendations.

Qualtrough said Canadians can no longer “shrug” at mounting evidence of harm in youth and amateur sport.

“As a parent and as a Canadian, we should be really ashamed that we let these things happen,” she said. “We sit by as parents, as leaders, as administrators, and we can’t do that anymore. The commission has given us an opportunity. The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today. Today, we can start making this change, and we owe it to our kids to do it.”

The former Liberal minister in Justin Trudeau’s government stressed that while the report is still preliminary – with a final version expected in early 2026 after a national summit – there are immediate steps governments and organizations can take.

“Let’s start taking action. Let’s put in place those policies. Let’s fund the sport better. We can’t fix the system without significant financial investments in it,” Qualtrough explained.

Qualtrough stressed that action is essential especially when recommendations will be more robust by early spring next year when the commission has had the chance to hear from Canadians again.

Underfunding, jurisdictional issues

A key message from Qualtrough was that failures in Canadian sport are structural not just individual.

She said the federal government currently has limited authority to regulate sport bodies, relying mostly on funding contracts that apply to only organizations receiving federal dollars.

“Sport is woefully underfunded. It’s not sufficiently regulated. Governments don’t have the tools they need, she said. “The reality right now is the only tool the government of Canada has is a contract, and if your organization isn’t funded by the government of Canada, we can’t tell you (about) any requirements for how you run sport in your area.”

Qualtrough pointed to the creation of a national sport agency – a model that already exists in countries like New Zealand, Australia and the U.K. She said Canada could follow suit by consolidating functions currently spread across dozens of sports organizations and resourcing one independent body to both support athletes and enforce standards.

“If we legislate an agency, we can provide better tools for governments to hold organizations accountable,” she said. “(We) can reduce the administrative burden on organizations and then invest that money in sport better.”

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

Currently, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) 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 quarter of this year, only 11 were deemed admissible and 82 were dismissed because they were not at the national, federally funded level.

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.

Hope for cultural change

Qualtrough emphasized that reform is not just about governance but also culture, noting the bravery of athletes and survivors who spoke up to bring systemic issues to light.

“You’re never going to hear me say, we can’t do this better, but you’re never going to hear me say we’ve done enough, because we haven’t. The evidence is in. We got to do something Canada, and it’s time to do it,” she said.

With the commission’s final report expected in early 2026, Qualtrough said she remains optimistic that Canada can rebuild trust in its sport system – but warned it will take political will and long-term investment.

“Political will is political will, and when governments have proven to act, they can act quickly,” she said.

With files from The Canadian Press