Calls grow from athletes, former minister for public inquiry to improve sport culture

Kirsty Duncan, a Liberal MP who served as Minister of Science and Sport from 2015 to 2019, said more work needs to be done to make sports safer for children across the country.

Canada’s former sport minister is calling for “real leaders to step up” over fears the country may repeat history if the federal government doesn’t launch a national inquiry into sports culture.

Kirsty Duncan, a Liberal MP who served as Minister of Science and Sport from 2015 to 2019, said more work needs to be done to make sports safer for children across the country.

“My fear is if we don’t have an inquiry, we’re going to be having these same conversations in five years, 10 years. These are children, they get one childhood,” she told The Canadian Press on Monday.

Duncan said an inquiry would need to be broad and far-reaching, allowing athletes a safe place to give testimony about alleged abuse or misconduct.

“This is the time for people to come to the table and put athletes and young children first,” she said. “Real leaders step up.”

Duncan’s comments come as four former and current Canadian athletes reiterated calls for a national inquiry into sports culture in Canada at a parliamentary committee meeting on Monday.

Soccer players Ciara McCormack and Andrea Neil, along with Olympic boxer Myriam Da Silva Rondeau and fencer Emily Mason echoed each other in pushing for an inquiry into the handling of abuse and mismanagement at their respective sporting organizations and across the country.

The women spoke to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage about the institutional roadblocks they faced when reporting misconduct and the need for better protection for athletes who raise concerns, including legislation protecting athletes who speak out.