Solving safe sport crisis requires buy-in from all levels, says integrity commissioner

Sports are rife with stories of coaches facing allegations of maltreatment from a club or provincial organization, who, under the cover of jurisdictional borders, move to another club, province or even another sport, and no one is the wiser.

Abusive behaviour can go also unchecked at the grassroots level without universal rules around conduct, reporting and suspensions.

Six months after Canada's new Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner began hearing cases, Sarah-Eve Pelletier said those are a couple of black holes in the fight to end abuse in Canadian sport.

Pelletier, Canada's first sport integrity commissioner and a former artistic swimmer, was testifying at Monday's session of Standing Committee on the Status of Women's meetings on the safety of women and girls in sport.

Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge said Tuesday she plans to push her provincial counterparts to hasten their efforts to investigate abuse in sports when she meets them Feb. 17-18 at the Canada Winter Games in Charlottetown.

"This needs to happen as quickly as possible. I think we're facing an urgent matter," St-Onge said. "We're hearing these stories of abuse and maltreatment at all levels. It shouldn't be a jurisdictional issue. All athletes should know where to turn to when they're facing these situations."

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Pelletier said provincial buy-in will fill some of the chasm.

"It's really about making sure that all participants at all levels, that there are consistent rules, consistent standards of behaviour, and then consistent ways to address those," Pelletier said in an interview with The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

"Our services at the OSIC services would be available for those