Ottawa announcing process to review abuse in Canadian sports

Minister of Sport Carla Qualtrough is expected to announce Monday the process the government will use to review systemic abuse and human rights violations in sports.

Qualtrough told a forum in Geneva last week that she would reveal the details of a "formal, independent mechanism" that would be "trauma-informed."

"[Qualtrough] ... will announce new safe sport measures to continue to address the causes of and prevent maltreatment in Canada's sport system on Monday," the government said in a press release. 

The long-awaited announcement comes after the federal government was accused by elite athletes of failing to act in response to abuse in sports. Athletes and their advocates have called on Ottawa to launch a national public inquiry. 

A parliamentary committee also recommended the federal government move forward with a public inquiry into abuse and harassment in sport. That committee investigated the issue and concluded in its final report that there has been a "long-standing pattern of normalizing abuse and maltreatment" in Canada.

Qualtrough's announcement also comes a day ahead of her appearance at the standing committee on Canadian heritage probing sports abuse where she is expected to face questions about why she hasn't yet called a public inquiry.

Abuse in sports came into the national spotlight in Canada last year after Hockey Canada reached a settlement with a young woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted in London, Ont. in 2017 by eight hockey players, including members of the World Junior team that year. 

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