Canadian Paralympians are asking why they don't receive money for medals while Olympians do

Another Summer and Winter Games cycle is coming to a close, with some extraordinary sporting moments provided by Canadian Olympians and Paralympians.

There is one glaring difference between the two, however.

Canadian Olympic athletes who won medals in either Tokyo or Beijing are being financially rewarded for their efforts — $20,000 for a gold, $15,000 for a silver and $10,000 for a bronze.

Canadian Paralympians who reached the podium in those same Games won't receive a single dollar. And it's been that way since the country's medal bonus program began 25 years ago.

"Why? What is the hold-up?" Josh Dueck, a two-time Paralympian and Canada's chef de mission in Beijing, said. "I'm very disappointed this is not resolved. I'm at a bit of a loss.

"The time has come and the time has passed. It needs to be resolved. It's not about the money, it's about equality and being recognized at the same level."

The bonus program, called the Athlete Excellence Fund, is entirely funded through the Canadian Olympic Committee, which is separate from the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Each organization governs everything to do with their respective Games.

"The COC is almost entirely privately funded, most of which comes through our marketing partnerships. Those funds are reinvested in the system in various ways including the COC AEF," the COC said in a statement to CBC Sports. 

For its part, the CPC says if everything goes as planned this will be the last Games cycle Canadian Paralympians leave empty-handed.

"It's such an obvious gap and it's time to get this done," Karen O'Neill, the CPC's CEO, said. "As much as we can say change is slow and steady, there's got to be some action. It's a priority."

Some other countries, such as the U.S. and