ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Trudeau says sports organizations have work to do to restore Canadians' trust

Share
OTTAWA -

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's concerned sports organizations are not fulfilling their responsibility to keep athletes safe, and groups like Hockey Canada and Gymnastics Canada have work to do to restore trust and assure parents their children are taken care of.

"They shouldn't be worried about satisfying the government, they should be worried about satisfying parents across the country, that they're keeping their kids safe, that they are an organization promoting the kinds of values, the kind of safe environment that every parent has a right to expect for their kids, that we want kids to model," Trudeau said Friday.

In a statement to CTV News, Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge confirmed on Thursday that the federal government will freeze funding to Gymnastics Canada until the organization co-operates with the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC).

This came on the heels of more than 500 gymnasts signing an open letter to St-Onge calling on the minister to suspend funding to the organization, and reiterating previous calls for an investigation into what it calls "the systemic culture of abuse that prevails in Canadian gymnastics." Gymnastics Canada was asked Thursday to comment on the letter but said it will issue a response Friday.

Last month the federal government also froze funding to Hockey Canada, under fire for its handling of sexual assault claims.

Trudeau says he wants sports organizations across Canada to be more transparent and sign on to accountability measures, such as the abuse-free sport program under the OSIC. There are currently only four program signatories: Canada Games Council, Canadian Sport for Live, Volleyball Canada, and Weightlifting Canada Haltérophilie.

 

Trudeau also says the government is committed to helping reinstate trust in sporting organizations.

"We're going to continue making sure that as a government and working with other orders of government, we are pushing for changes that make sure that our kids are kept safe," he said.

"We need to listen, we need to act, and that's exactly what we're doing."

With files from CTV News’ Melanie Nagy and Alexandra Mae Jones

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

Stay Connected