On May 2, 2024, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, provided an update on the transition of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner and the Abuse-Free Sport Program. It stated that the administration of the Universal Code of Code for Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) will move from the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) to the CCES as of April 1, 2025. Click here for the Minister's update.
Between now and April 2025, the CCES will work closely with the SDRCC on a transition plan to ensure there is no interruption in services to sport organizations and athletes.
To prepare for the transition, the CCES will consult broadly with its partners in sport, active and retired athletes, and subject matter experts to ensure the next iteration of the safe sport program meets the expectations and needs of the sport community. Information about consultation opportunities will be communicated when it’s available.
The CCES would like to recognize the significant work done by the SDRCC to launch and operate Canada’s first Abuse-Free Sport Program and the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.
Consultation Process
We welcome thoughts from all Abuse-Free Sport Program signatories and their participants on their experiences with the program to date, and how we can build upon the early successes to improve it going forward. Below is an outline of the consultation plan.
June 2024
The CCES will distribute a survey to existing Abuse-Free Sport signatories to gather feedback and information will be used to inform revisions to the program. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
July to September 2024
A first draft of the next version of this program will be written using the information gathered in the survey, guided by a diverse set of experts including athletes. The draft will be accompanied by an explanatory document that clearly identifies the revisions and the rationale to support them.
October or early November 2024
A series of comprehensive engagement opportunities, both in-person and virtual, will take place across Canada to seek feedback on the potential revisions. Dates for these sessions will be shared in the fall along with the questions and topics to assist in guiding the discussion.
Late November or December 2024
Revisions to the program will be confirmed and announced.
January to March 2025
CCES staff will work with signatories to onboard and implement the new program and its requirements.
We look forward to hearing from all signatories and sport participants and learning from your collective experiences.
NOTE: During this transition period, the current version of the OSIC and Abuse-Free Sport remain in force and are under the authority of the SDRCC.
FAQ
As stated in Minister Qualtrough’s update on the transition of the OSIC and the Abuse-Free Sport Program: “In December 2023, the Government of Canada announced that OSIC and the Abuse-Free Sport Program would be transitioned out of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) to preserve both the independence of the Program and of the SDRCC in its statutory role as an alternative dispute resolution service provider, ensure independence, best support athletes and those seeking its services, and to further strengthen the integrity of the Canadian sport system.”
The CCES is an independent organization with no representation from sport or government on its Board of Directors. Given the existing broad mandate of the CCES and its current operating structures and systems, it’s both efficient and effective to evolve the structure of the CCES to manage safe sport as well.
Several countries have consolidated the management of sport integrity issues in one centralized independent organization, like the CCES plans do to, including Sport Integrity Australia, FINCIS (Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports), Swiss Sport Integrity, and New Zealand.
The CCES was established as a recommendation of the Dubin Inquiry, which determined that an independent organization was required to administer anti-doping processes for sport in Canada. Since its inception, the CCES has provided independent service to the Canadian sport community and is trusted by global partners and clients.
The CCES will review its operations to ensure processes that maximize independence are in place and will engage experts in governance to recommend additional steps the CCES should take to conduct this work with the appropriate independence.
Feedback from the sport community will provide insight that will help the CCES develop a safe sport program that meets the needs of the Canadian sport system. Information about the consultation process will be available soon.
Agreements with OSIC will remain in place until March 31, 2025. New agreements with the CCES will be enacted on April 1, 2025. Complaints will continue to be managed by OSIC until that time.
In the meantime, the CCES will consult broadly with its partners in sport, athletes (current and retired) and subject matter experts. Consultations are expected to take place in the fall of 2024, after the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The results of the Future of Sport Commission will also be incorporated into the redesign of the safe sport program.
It’s too early to say exactly what’s going to change. The SDRCC established the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner and the Abuse-Free Sport Program, and the CCES plans to build upon the good work done by SDRCC to date and learn from their challenges.
If you have suggestions to share, please participate in the consultation process in the fall of 2024.
The transition of the safe sport program to the CCES is not directly tied to the Future of Sport Commission, though findings from the commission will help shape the mandate and inform the next iteration of the UCCMS. The commission will be carried out in parallel to the program transition and may be an opportunity for the sport community to share ideas on the structure required to manage sport integrity issues in Canada.
Minster Qualtrough’s announcement stated that the CCES will evolve its organizational mandate to encompass all aspects of sport integrity, which is a relatively new concept. A sport integrity agency is an organizational model that sees all integrity issues managed by one organization that is at arm’s length from sport and independent of outside influence.
The CCES currently manages programs to address two major integrity issues, doping and competition manipulation, and the addition of safe sport will make the CCES the central agency for integrity issues in Canada.
Examples of integrity agencies include the Athletics Integrity Unit, International Tennis Integrity Agency, Swiss Sport Integrity, and Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports (FINCIS).
To contact the CCES about consultation opportunities or the program transition, email [email protected].
Reports of maltreatment should continue to be directed to the SDRCC until March 31, 2025. Go to the Abuse-Free Sport website for more information: www.abuse-free-sport.ca.