The glossary lists terms used in CSSP Rules and the UCCMS. 

Click here for the CSSP Rules definitions

Prohibited Behaviours

Maltreatment is doing something, or neglecting to do something, that results in harm or has the potential to do harm. The different forms of maltreatment are referred to as “prohibited behaviours.” The following list provides plain language brief explanations of the prohibited behaviours that are defined in the UCCMS. For the original detailed definitions, click here.

Aiding and Abetting: “Aiding” or “abetting” is doing anything to help maltreatment take place. This includes directly assisting, furthering, facilitating, promoting, or encouraging it. It can also include allowing someone who is suspended to participate in the adopting organization’s activities.

Boundary Transgression: Boundary transgressions are interactions or communications that go beyond what is expected or appropriate. A boundary transgression can be difficult to identify. It depends on context, including the age of the people involved and whether there is a power imbalance. It may not be maltreatment but is still inappropriate under the circumstances.

Discrimination: Discrimination can be obvious or subtle. It refers to treating people differently on a range of prohibited grounds. Discrimination can include, but isn’t limited to, denying someone access to services, benefits, or opportunities. It could also look like treating a person unfairly, communicating hate messages or unwelcome remarks or jokes, or the perpetuation of harmful attitudes and stereotypes.

Failure to Report: Early intervention is required to prevent the escalation of prohibited behaviours. That’s why adult participants must make a report when they know about another person’s prohibited behaviour. If they fail to do so, they are committing a violation. It could also be a violation if they ought to have known about the behaviour. The person making the report doesn’t need to determine whether a violation took place. Their responsibility is simply to report the behaviour. A person who is subject to maltreatment is not obligated to report it, nor are minors.

Grooming: Grooming involves conduct that makes someone more vulnerable to sexual maltreatment. The grooming process is often gradual and involves building trust and comfort with a person, and sometimes also with the trusted adults and peers around the person. It may begin with subtle behaviours that may not appear to be inappropriate but that can serve to sexualize a relationship, reduce sexual inhibitions, or normalize inappropriate behaviour. It may include the testing of boundaries (like seemingly accidental touching) that gradually escalates to sexual maltreatment (for example, sexualized touching). Repeated boundary transgressions might be grooming.

Intentionally Reporting a False Allegation: An allegation is false if the person making a report knows that the events they’re reporting didn’t happen. This is different from an unsubstantiated allegation, where there isn’t enough evidence to determine whether it’s true or not. Reporting an unsubstantiated allegation is not necessarily a violation, unless it’s made in bad faith.

Interference with or Manipulation of Process: Interfering with investigations or disciplinary processes is a violation. That could include interfering with evidence, harassing or intimidating anyone involved, failing to comply with sanctions, or publicizing information that should be confidential. However, it is not a violation if a survivor of abuse hides information, whether out of embarrassment or shame, or to protect the perpetrator.

Neglect: Neglect involves failing to care for someone properly and is evaluated with consideration given to the participant’s needs and requirements. This could include not allowing an athlete adequate recovery time or treatment for an injury, disregarding or not considering a person’s physical or intellectual disability, not ensuring appropriate supervision of an athlete during travel, training or competition, not considering the welfare of the athlete when prescribing a diet or other weight control methods, failure to ensure a safe environment and equipment.

Physical Maltreatment: Physical maltreatment involves any pattern or a single serious incident of deliberate conduct, including contact behaviours and non-contact behaviours, that has the potential to be harmful to a person’s physical or psychological well-being.

Psychological Maltreatment: Psychological maltreatment can be verbal or physical. It can also take the form of denying someone appropriate attention or support; or it can be a harmful pattern of behaviour from someone in a position of trust or authority. Psychological maltreatment doesn’t require intent to cause harm. Whether or not it happened is based on an objective view of the behaviour.

Retaliation: People need to feel safe coming forward to report maltreatment. It’s prohibited to retaliate if they report possible prohibited behaviour. Retaliation includes threatening, intimidating, harassing, or coercing anyone who is participating in the process. Discouraging someone from reporting, or from participating in the process, is also a violation. If retaliation occurs, it can and should be reported.

Sexual Maltreatment: Sexual maltreatment involves any pattern or a single incident, whether physical or psychological in nature, that is committed, threatened, or attempted, and that has the potential to be harmful to a person’s sexual integrity. It can occur in person or online, and includes contact and non-contact behaviours, as well as sexual harassment.

Subjecting a Participant to the Risk of Maltreatment: People in positions of authority can’t put others into situations that they know (or ought to have known) would put someone at risk of maltreatment. This can include things like: 

  • asking an athlete and trainer to share a hotel room when travelling,
  • hiring someone with a history of prohibited behaviour who is serving a sanction,
  • forcing athletes to train in unsafe conditions, like in terrible weather, or using unsafe equipment,
  • assigning a guide or support staff to a para athlete who has a history of prohibited behaviour, or
  • assigning a guide or support staff to a para athlete without consulting with the athlete.

Power Imbalance: Power imbalances can lead to abuse and maltreatment. A power imbalance exists when someone has authority or control over someone else, in a position to grant or deny benefits or advancement to the person, or is responsible for the physical or psychological well-being of the person. Whether there is a power imbalance depends on the situation, including the perspective of the person with less power. For examples, click here.

CSSP Rules Definitions

The following terms are from the DEFINITIONS section of the CSSP Rules.

Adoption Contract: A formal contract that will integrate the Canadian Safe Sport Program (CSSP) into the rules of each adopting sport organization in accordance with Rules 3 and 4 of the CSSP Rules. The adoption contract will specify rights, obligations and responsibilities for the sport organization and for the CCES. 

Appeal Panel: The panel of the appeal tribunal of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) that hears an appeal of sanction. 

Appeal Tribunal: The division of the SDRCC that constitutes Panels whose responsibility is to decide appeals of decisions of a safeguarding panel on sanction. 

Athlete: Any person that competes in sport at the international and/or national level and that is a member, registrant or license-holder of a sport organization; and/or competes at the international and/or national level and is a member of a team participating in multi-sport events under the authority of a sport organization. 

Athlete Support Personnel: Any coach, trainer, manager, agent, team staff, medical, paramedical personnel, or any other person working with, treating or assisting an athlete participating in or preparing for sports competition. 

Canadian Safe Sport Program Process (CSSP Process): Any process or step under the CSSP Rules, including investigation of a report, mediation, determination of a report, and review or appeal of a CCES decision.

Canadian Sport Dispute Resolution Code: The procedural code of the SDRCC. 

Consent Form: An agreement that, as part of the sport organization’s adoption contract, a sport organization must ensure every participant and any other individual subject to the CSSP agrees to the consent form making them aware they are subject to the CSSP and the CSSP Rules. 

Impacted Person: A person who has directly experienced alleged prohibited behaviour and has been identified as an impacted person by the CCES in the CSSP Process. An impacted person may or may not be the reporting person in a report. 

Investigation Report: A report prepared by an investigator, following an investigation, which sets out a summary of the relevant evidence, the findings of fact and credibility made by the investigator on a balance of probabilities, and the reasons for those findings, as set out in Rule 14 of the CSSP Rules. 

Letter of Concern: A letter issued by the CCES to a respondent to report, recommending or directing that the respondent engage in remedial or educational activities as set out in Rule 13.1 of the CSSP Rules. 

Mediation: A resolution process, facilitated by the SDRCC, to resolve a report of prohibited behaviour through a mutually agreed upon minutes of resolution and approved by the CCES.

Minor: A person under the age of 19. 

Notice of Decision: The written notice provided by the CCES to the respondent, reporting person, impacted person and the sport organization (as applicable) under rule 15, setting out the CCES’s decision on whether a respondent engaged in prohibited behaviour following receipt of an investigation report and the reasons for that decision. 

Notice of Report: The written notice provided to the respondent by the CCES informing the respondent that a report has been made against them, as set out in rule 10 of the CSSP Rules. 

Participant: An individual who is subject to the UCCMS and CSSP as defined in Rule 3 of the CSSP Rules. For the avoidance of doubt, other individuals identified by sport organizations under Rule 3.2 are considered participants for the purpose of applying the CSSP.

Prohibited Behaviour: Prohibited behaviour under the CSSP is prohibited behaviour as defined in the UCCMS, conduct that constitutes a violation of the CSSP Rules, and conduct that was prohibited by the relevant sport organization’s policies and procedures in place at the time the prohibited behavior occurred, and which would constitute prohibited behaviour under the UCCMS. 

Provisional Measure: A temporary protective measure imposed by the CCES pending determination of a Report in accordance with rule 12 of the CSSP Rules. 

Public Registry: A searchable database or registry of respondents whose eligibility to participate in sport has been restricted and which is publicly available in accordance with rule 19 of the CSSP Rules. 

Remedial Resolution: A resolution agreed to by the respondent and the cces in which the respondent acknowledges that they engaged in concerning behaviour and agrees to the imposition of educational and/or remedial and/or safety and/or protective conditions or requirements by the CCES in accordance with Rule 13.2 of the CSSP Rules. 

Report: An allegation made to the CCES under rule 6 of the CSSP Rules, that a participant engaged in prohibited behaviour. 

Reporting Person: The individual who has made a report to the CCES alleging that a participant has engaged in prohibited behaviour. The reporting person may or may not be the person directly impacted by the prohibited behaviour (the impacted person). 

Respondent: A participant alleged in a report to have engaged in one or more prohibited behaviours. 

Safeguarding Panel: The panel that is or has been appointed by the safeguarding tribunal of the SDRCC to hear reviews of decisions made by the CCES, pursuant to rule 16 of the CSSP Rules. 

Safeguarding Tribunal: The division of the SDRCC that constitutes safeguarding panels to hear reviews of decisions made by the CCES, pursuant to rule 16 of the CSSP Rules.

Sport Organization: Any national sport organization, national multi-sport service organization, Canadian Sport Centre(s) and Institute(s) receiving funding from Sport Canada that has adopted the CSSP. 

Support Person: A support person may include legal counsel, parents, and personal support workers, among others, but cannot be a person who is a witness or potential witness to the subject matter of the report or CSSP Process.

Defined terms shall include their plural and possessive forms, as well as those terms used as other parts of speech.