December hearing for women's team pursuit discrimination complaint against Cycling Canada

Ontario's Human Rights Tribunal has granted a hearing to five women who contend Cycling Canada's decision to not enter a women's track pursuit team in the world championships was discriminatory.

Cycling Canada announced Wednesday its 10-member team for the Oct. 14-16 championships in Shanghai.

Canada's contingent includes a men's pursuit team in the first qualification event for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but not a women's team.

Fiona Majendie, Skyler Goudswaard, Jenna Nestman, Lily Plante and Justine Thomas took their case for pursuit team inclusion to Ontario's Human Rights Tribunal on Aug. 18 after their appeal was denied by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada.

Their request for an interim order requiring Cycling Canada to enter a women's team into Shanghai by the Sept. 21 entry deadline was denied. The Tribunal deemed there wasn't enough time for an expedited hearing and decision in a 34-day window.

But the Tribunal granted Wednesday a hearing of up to three days in December to hear oral submissions from the five women and Cycling Canada.

The Tribunal had directed the women and Cycling Canada to try mediation, but that was unsuccessful.

The Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada denied the women's appeal in a decision released Aug. 10.

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Cycling Canada denied sexual discrimination in its response to the Human Rights Tribunal and said the women's complaint should be dismissed "as an abuse of process" under the Human Rights Code because the SDRCC had already dealt with the issue.

"The SDRCC found that the decision was not discriminatory, nor