History of Anti-Doping in Canada

1968

• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) publishes first banned list of drugs for the 1968 Summer Olympics.

1975

• Canada's first positive test result for a non-steroid infraction occurs at the 1975 Pan American Games. A bronze medal is withdrawn from the athlete. It is widely believed to have been an inadvertent positive arising from self-administration of a cold tablet containing a banned drug.

1976

• Extensive testing occurs during the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. Testing is carried out at the IOC-accredited laboratory in Montreal, developed specifically to conduct sample analysis for the Olympics.

1981

• Canada's first positive test result for steroids occurs at the Pacific Conference Games of Athletics in New Zealand. The test result is challenged by the athlete on the grounds that oral contraceptives may have produced a false positive. Attempts to replicate the circumstances through a research project were unsuccessful and the positive test result is upheld.

1982

• The Sport Medicine Council of Canada (SMCC) conducts an extensive survey on doping in amateur sport among 1,500 Canadian athletes, coaches, medical and para-medical practitioners. The response rate among athletes in sports where doping is regarded as possible is relatively low. Fewer than 5% of athletes stated they were using or had previously used performance-enhancing substances.

1983

• Two Canadian weightlifters test positive for steroids at the Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela. The departure of athletes from the Games following the announcement of doping controls prior to the start of competition generates speculation that athletes are deliberately avoiding testing.
• The Pan American Games incident prompts accelerated development by the Federal Government of a national anti-doping policy and program. The Federal Minister responsible for sport issues a policy, Drug Use and Doping Control, in December 1983.
• The federal government asks the SMCC to establish an Advisory Committee on Anti-Doping in Amateur Sport. Four Canadian weightlifters are apprehended at Mirabel airport and charged with various offences related to importing banned drugs. All charges are later dropped.

1984

• As part of the new federal government policy, national sport organizations are asked to develop policies and plans for their respective sport. Activities in the spring and summer of 1984 focus primarily on the development of policies and the testing of athletes in the period leading up to the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• The SMCC enters into a contract for the analysis of samples at the IOC-accredited INRS Santé Laboratory in Montreal.
• A slide show on Doping in Amateur Sport is produced along with a resource kit for use by resource persons with medical, scientific and sport backgrounds.
• Two Canadian weightlifters test positive in tests just prior to the Los Angeles Olympic Games. The athletes are withdrawn from the Olympic team and return to Canada.

1985

• The contract with INRS Santé Laboratory is extended for four years and includes sample analysis, research and consultative services.
• The SMCC Advisory Committee continues its work on the development of Standard Operating Procedures for doping control.
• Six Canadian athletes test positive for steroids: four in weightlifting, one in athletics, and one in swimming.
• Doping control is conducted at the Canada Summer Games for the first time, in two sports: cycling and athletics.
• Sport Canada and the SMCC co-produce a comprehensive anti-doping education package.
• Canada is formally represented for the first time at the Council of Europe's Committee for the Development of Sport/Expert Group on Doping. Canada gains first-hand knowledge of the experience of other nations in Europe working on anti-doping campaigns.
• Two weightlifting athletes from the Soviet Union are found to have large quantities of steroids in their possession during the course of entering Canada for a competition.
• The Canadian federal anti-doping policy is strengthened. The policy is extended to include illegal and unethical physiological manipulations, and the penalties for first-time doping infractions involving steroids are extended from a minimum one-year eligibility for federal funding to life-time ineligibility.

1986

• Arbitration procedures are created to permit a further level of appeal for athletes wishing to challenge doping penalties.
• National sport organizations continue the development and implementation of anti-doping plans. However, infractions for steroid use continue to occur: three in athletics and one in weightlifting.

1987

• The Canadian Olympic Association issues its policy on doping which respects the determination of positive test results by other sport governing bodies and provides for a hearing before the imposition of penalties.
• The Canadian Weightlifting Federation begins out-of-competition testing on a short-notice basis.
• The SMCC Advisory Committee successfully challenges the IOC decision to ban the use of norethisterone on the grounds that the inability to use this drug may impair the reproductive health of female athletes.
• Testing of athletes is conducted in four sports at the Canada Winter Games - boxing, wrestling, weightlifting and cross-country skiing.

1988

• A system for training independent doping control officers is implemented to ensure adherence with doping control protocols.
• Canada hosts the First Permanent World Conference on Anti-Doping in Sport.
• Five Canadians test positive for steroids: four in weightlifting and one in athletics. These infractions lead to the Commission of Inquiry into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance (the Dubin Inquiry).
• Federal and provincial-territorial sport ministers agree to pursue joint actions in the fight against doping in sport.

1989

• Testimony at the Dubin Inquiry begins in January and lasts 91 days with 122 witnesses including athletes, coaches, sport administrators, IOC representatives, doctors and government officials.
• At the 1989 Canada Summer Games, doping controls are conducted in five sports: athletics, rowing, cycling, canoeing and wrestling. Hereafter, drug testing becomes standard practice at all Canada Games.
• The SMCC Advisory Committee revises the Doping Control Standard Operating Procedures and develops Canadian protocols for unannounced doping control.
• The Second Permanent World Conference on Anti-Doping in Sport is held in Moscow. Representatives of the federal government present "A Model for a National Anti-doping Program."
• Four Canadian athletes test positive: one in athletics, one in bobsleigh, one in fencing and one in weightlifting.

1990

• Canadian national sport organizations approve anti-doping policies that conform with protocols for unannounced doping control as outlined in the Doping Control Standard Operating Procedures.
• Justice Dubin releases his 638-page report on the Commission of Inquiry Into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance, containing 70 recommendations.
• Athletes in 25 sports are requested to participate in unannounced doping control.
• Fourteen Canadian athletes test positive: one in bobsleigh, two in boxing, three in university football, one in cycling, two in football, two in weightlifting and three in bodybuilding.
• The federal government signs a tri-lateral anti-doping agreement with Australia and United Kingdom.

1991

• The Minister of State for Youth, Fitness and Amateur Sport announces the creation of an independent anti-doping organization and approves a new Canadian Policy on Penalties for Doping in Sport. 
• Ten Canadian athletes test positive for banned substances: two in athletics, two in bodybuilding, one in boxing, two in university football, one in junior football and two in weightlifting.
• The new Canadian Anti-Doping Organization (CADO) is formally launched in September and becomes operational in January 1992. 

1992

• CADO conducts approximately 2,600 domestic doping control tests covering 52 amateur sports, of which 55 percent are in the unannounced category with little or no notice to the athlete.
• There are a total of 13 domestic doping infractions.
• CADO is re-named the Canadian Centre for Drug-free Sport (CCDS).
• CCDS publishes revised Doping Control Standard Operating Procedures.

1993

• Approximately 2,800 domestic doping control tests covering 52 amateur sports are conducted, 63 percent unannounced.
• Twenty domestic doping infractions are reported.
• The contract for services with the IOC-accredited laboratory in Montreal is expanded and extended.
• Standard Operating Procedures for Doping Control are further revised. Appeal mechanisms are refined and a procedure to review requests for reinstatement from doping penalties is created.
• A Doping Control Handbook for athletes and coaches is published, along with a booklet summarizing banned and restricted substances and methods and a brochure illustrating doping control procedures.

1994

• Approximately 2,800 domestic doping control tests are conducted, 72% unannounced, the highest percentage of any comparable country worldwide that year.
• Fourteen domestic doping infractions are reported.
• A national school survey polls over 16,000 young Canadians on their attitudes towards drugs and sport.
• The CCDS contracts with the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) to provide doping control services throughout North and Central America.
• A program to train and certify doping control officers is launched.
• New reinstatement provisions in the Canadian Policy on Penalties for Doping in Sport are introduced.

1995

• Approximately 2,100 domestic doping control tests are conducted, 76% unannounced, the highest proportion of unannounced tests of any comparable country worldwide that year.
• Eleven domestic doping infractions are reported.
• The CCDS merges with Fair Play Canada and is renamed the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES).
• The CCES conducts a survey of high performance athletes and finds high satisfaction with, and confidence in, the CCES's sample collection procedures.

1996

• A total of 1,819 domestic tests are conducted on Canadian athletes, 77% unannounced.
• Thirteen infractions occurred in eight sports: two in athletics, one in blind powerlifting, two in bobsleigh, four in university football, one in equestrian, one in junior football, one in rowing and one in water skiing.
• Doping control is conducted on athletes at 29 events held in Canada during the year (309 tests), with no infractions.
• Doping control contract services are conducted for nine client organizations (246 tests). Seven infractions occur in two sports: five in bodybuilding and two in powerlifting.
• The CCES contracts the services of the Centre for Sport and Law, an independent authority, to coordinate appeals, reinstatements and case reviews under the Canadian Policy on Penalties for Doping in Sport, using independent adjudicators.

1997

• A total of 1,682 domestic tests are conducted on Canadian athletes, 78% unannounced category.
• Thirteen infractions occur in four sports: six in university football, one in cycling, five in junior football and one in weightlifting.
• Doping control is conducted on athletes at 46 events held in Canada during the year (415 tests). One infraction is observed in athletics during the Canada Summer Games.
• Doping control contract service tests are conducted for 12 client organizations (234 tests). Nine infractions occurred in two sports: six in bodybuilding and three in powerlifting.
• The International Anti-Doping Arrangement (IADA), an umbrella agency involving Canada and several other countries, completes a Quality Assurance Manual setting out international standards for doping control. It is hoped that widespread use of these standards among sport bodies and drug-free sport agencies will encourage more effective testing worldwide.
• The CCES enters into a trilateral agreement with the Australian Sports Drug Agency and the United States Olympic Committee to allow for joint research, education and monitoring activities concerning drug use in sport.
• The CCES handles over 850 medication and supplement inquiries from athletes.

1998

• A total of 1,732 domestic tests are conducted on Canadian athletes, 79% unannounced.
• Nine infractions occur in five sports: three in bobsleigh, one in university football, one in diving, three in junior football and one in weightlifting.
• Doping control is conducted on athletes at 25 events held in Canada (155 tests). One infraction was observed in rugby during the Pacific Rim Series.
• Doping control contract services tests are conducted for eleven client organizations (240 tests). Eleven infractions occur in two sports: ten in bodybuilding and one in powerlifting.
• The CCES handles over 950 medication and supplement inquiries.

1999

• A total of 1,623 domestic tests are conducted on Canadian athletes, 80% unannounced.
• Four infractions were committed in four sports: one in athletics, one in cycling, one in water skiing and one in weightlifting.
• Doping control is conducted on athletes at 38 events held in Canada (1,173 tests). One infraction occurs in the sport of roller hockey during the Pan American Games in Winnipeg.
• Doping control contract services tests are conducted for eleven client organizations (245 tests). Twenty-five infractions are recorded in three sports: 20 in bodybuilding, four in hockey and one in weightlifting.
• After extensive consultations with the Canadian sport community, a new Canadian Policy on Doping in Sport is approved, along with improved Canadian Doping Control Regulations, to take effect in January 2000.
• After the 1998 Tour de France scandal, in which police seized a large number of prohibited medical substances from cycling teams and coaches, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) convenes a World Conference on Doping in Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is created in November.