Part 5: Organizational Action and Safe Sport

Another stakeholder in Canada’s sport system are sport organizations. This includes national sport organizations (NSOs), provincial/territorial sport organizations (P/TSOs), community sport organizations (CSOs), multi-sport organizations (MSOs) and other entities and groups that coordinate and implement sporting activities nationwide.

In Part 5, the authors provide unique insight on the safe sport movement and offer suggestions on how to move forward along the safe sport journey. Chapter 12 written by Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) representatives Kasey Liboiron and Karri Dawson explains the True Sport approach to values-based sport which aims to instill character in participants, strengthen the communities where sport is played, and increase opportunities for personal and podium excellence. This chapter argues that an intentional, fundamental change in culture is required across the sport system to ensure a safe sport experience for all.

Similarly, Chapter 13 written by Ellen MacPherson, PhD, and Ian Moss on behalf of Gymnastics Canada, provides an overview of the process of developing a Safe Sport Framework, discusses the implementation of safe sport initiatives by the NSO, reviews the challenges Gymnastics Canada faced, and suggests critical areas of focus with resources to bolster students’ and industry professionals’ safe sport toolkits.

Finally, Chapter 14, a new contribution written by Taylor McKee, PhD, in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, outlines how unsafe sport practices are embedded within Canadian hockey culture, particularly in men’s major junior and professional levels. He argues that hockey’s entrenchment in Canadian identity fosters a culture of silence, where harm is both normalized and perpetuated. This chapter concludes that transparency and accountability are necessary for change, but meaningful reform is unlikely within the current hockey culture.