Full opening remarks by Canada Soccer President, Charmaine Crooks, to Heritage Committee on Safe Sport

Hello Madam Chair and Members of the Committee. I’m Charmaine Crooks.

I’m the newly-elected volunteer President of Canada Soccer, and I am honoured to be the first woman and first person of colour to serve in that role in its 111-year history.

As someone who has worked for decades to improve inclusion, ethics, and well-being in sport, I do not underestimate the importance of this mandate, and I look vbforward to serving all the constituents of Canada Soccer.

______

I would like to begin today by telling you about my background as an athlete and volunteer, hoping to use my experience to help further the conversation about good governance and safe sport in Canada.

I was born in Jamaica, to a family of nine children, and came to Canada when I was six. Canada is where I developed and grew as a person and athlete, helping me become a Canadian track and field national team member and an Olympic medalist.

I was the first female athlete in Canadian history to be named to five Olympic Games.

As a former international competitor during an era when track and field faced systemic sports ethics challenges, I am deeply conscious of the importance of good governance and ethical leadership to ensure a safe and fair sporting environment.

At the 1996 Olympic Games, I was Canada’s flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony, partly in recognition of my work off the track with sports organizations and athletes. That honour cemented my commitment to being an advocate – to make sport better.

In 2012, I was awarded the Order of Canada for my athletics career and volunteer work with the International Olympic movement, including for my efforts to develop the IOC code of ethics.

______

As a woman of colour who has been part of the elite global sport system, I’ve experienced both the wonderful and unfortunate realities that coexist in sport.

Whether abuse comes straight at you or in the form of micro – aggressions, the pain and the damage are real. As leaders, we have a duty to stamp that out.

______

I believe I’ve earned the opportunity, and have recently been elected, to take on the leadership of Canada Soccer and use my experiences to help improve and heal. Some of my credentials, which I hope can assist this committee in its work, include:

• My work with the first group of active athletes elected by our peers to the International Olympic Committee as voting members.
• As an IOC Athletes Commission member, I focused on building athlete representation and decision-making in the Olympic movement and supporting athletes during and after their careers.
• I also served on the IOC Culture and Education Commission, IOC 2000 Reform Commission, the IOC Ethics Commission, and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

I believe those experiences are particularly relevant to the discussion we are having today about safe sport. In addition to my role with the IOC, I was a founding member of Right to Play, which seeks to protect, educate, and empower children using the power of play.

I also continued my role as a volunteer board member with the Canadian Olympic Committee and as a member of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Organising Committee.

With that background, I am keenly aware of the power and importance of leadership and sport as vehicles for personal realization, uniting people, and driving societal change.

I am proud of my record of advocating for athletes and championing fair, equitable, and safe sport. provided that background so the Committee understands my purpose: To stand by and advocate for athletes, who deserve our utmost respect and are the reason we do what we do.

______

In my new role as President, it is my duty to uphold Canada Soccer’s mission to provide leadership in the pursuit of excellence in soccer at the grassroots, national, and international levels.

We strive to lead Canada to victory, but also encourage Canadians to have a life-long passion for soccer and work to ensure that soccer is the safest sport in our country. Canada Soccer is committed to ensuring the association delivers on every aspect of that mandate.

Over the last few years, substantial progress has been made to ensure more board engagement and, certainly, in the last few months, a desire to increase transparency. The modernization of our board has resulted in the election of a woman of colour as President, and of Paul-Claude Bérubé, a Québec lawyer and person with disabilities, as Vice President.

In recent months, Canada Soccer’s leadership has brought an improved approach to how we listen and collaborate, and we began work with all our members and partners to build a better, more inclusive environment for players, coaches, referees, administrators, and volunteers. That work strengthens Canada Soccer’s record over the last decade-plus of building robust safe sport protocols, like the Canada Soccer Safe Sport Roster.

It’s also supportive of our commitments to delivering equal pay and ensuring the environments for both senior national teams are set up for long-term success. Those priorities will continue to be a focus during my Presidency, and we will achieve further improvements in those areas.

On the topic of inclusion, I want to recognize a key step towards a landmark for women’s soccer in Canada: The creation of a domestic women’s professional league. At the recent Canada Soccer Annual Meeting, our membership unanimously voted into membership Project 8, the new women’s professional soccer league in Canada.

We are rapidly approaching the day when women’s professional teams in Canada will help develop the next generation of Women’s National Team players. I am thrilled for the Project 8 team, and we look forward to the successful future of the league and its players.

Our national team players – and all our athletes, referees, members, and fans – deserve the best sports environment. We will continue to work over the next year and beyond to ensure that is the case.

On that note, during the past few weeks as interim – and now elected – President, I heard from our players, members, partners, and fans alike that trust, greater transparency, and better communication are crucial to ensuring Canada Soccer is a stable and strong organization that all Canadians can be proud of.

I have heard and wholeheartedly agree with that input. My mandate in this time of evolution is to continue that work and improve conditions in all areas of our sport.

______

I think we all know the system is imperfect. As elected officials, I am sure this committee knows that the best way to make change is to get involved and usher change from within, which I have always strove to do and intend to do in my new role.

My key priorities for Canada Soccer are to:

• Ensure pay equity is realized and that national team budgets are managed effectively to ensure success for our women’s and men’s programs.
• Engage in discussions with Canadian Soccer Business to ensure both parties benefit equally from the partnership, and that discussions around the women’s game in Canada are continued.
• Get more people from the business world and more players engaged in governance, to ensure they have a voice in the association’s direction. This means more voting power for members, ensuring the grassroots level has a voice in the association.
• Ensure full administrative and financial transparency, and eliminate the uncertainty and misunderstanding that led to some of the hardships within the association and with our players.
• Lastly, I intend to build an environment where people feel safe to voice their opinions and where diverse opinions are valued and discussed safely.

As interim President, I contacted and met with many stakeholders, including provincial and territorial member associations, players’ representatives, alumni, the Project 8 team, and CSB. I intend to continue that outreach as President, and already started during my first week.

______

I’ve lived my life advocating for athletes’ rights. I know that to build trust, you need to be transparent and follow through on what you say you will do.

I know what it’s like for athletes to make personal and financial sacrifices, train long hours, spend time away from family, and put their bodies on the line to realize their dreams for Canada.

As President, I am excited for and committed to realizing the current opportunity to heal and move Canada Soccer forward, so we can continue to grow the grassroots game, build on the success of our national teams, and maximize the potential of the professional game in both women’s and men’s soccer.

That commitment includes appearing before you today to address your questions, directly and with respect. In turn, during your questioning, I expect members of this Committee to display the proper respect and decorum this important topic deserves and to further the principles of safe sport, which include creating safe spaces for solutions-seeking and discussion.

I will execute my Canada Soccer Presidency in the same spirit.

Thank you for your attention. I look forward to answering your questions.