The Future of Sport in Canada Commission starts tackling the country91裸聊视频檚 safe-sport crisis later this month with the first of nine hearings.

Federal sports minister Carla Qualtrough announced in late 2023 that the commission91裸聊视频檚 mandate will be to learn from Canadians, including victims and survivors of abuse and maltreatment, about their experience in and with sports.

The commission91裸聊视频檚 first stop Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 is in Toronto and the last is Dec. 10-13 in Halifax.

Other hearing locations are: Regina, Nov. 12-15; Quebec City, Nov. 18-19; Montreal, Nov. 20-22; Winnipeg, Nov. 25-26; Calgary, Nov. 27-29; Victoria, Dec. 2-3; Vancouver, Dec. 4-6.

Qualtrough stopped short of a public inquiry despite calls to do so from several quarters, including former sports minister Kirsty Duncan and the parliamentary standing committee on the status of women.

Bloc-Qu茅b茅cois MP Sebastien Lemire continued to urge for a public inquiry Thursday in the House of Commons.

91裸聊视频淭his voluntary commission is no more than an advisory body,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚t has no real powers to bring about significant change.91裸聊视频�

Olympic kayak champion Adam van Koeverden, who is now an MP and the parliamentary secretary to the sports minister, countered that a public inquiry would take too long to institute.

91裸聊视频淕iven that sport is a shared jurisdiction between municipal and regional, territorial, provincial governments and jurisdictions, a public inquiry would have required months of negotiating with provinces,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲ith the commission, the work is already underway.91裸聊视频�

The commission is led by Lise Maisonneuve, who is a former chief justice of the Ontario Court of Justice.

91裸聊视频淎s sport permeates most of our lives, the Future of Sport in Canada Commission looks forward to engaging directly with Canadians across the country, including at the grassroot level, to gather more insights and perspectives regarding their experience in and with sport,91裸聊视频� Maisonneuve said Thursday in a statement.

Canada91裸聊视频檚 high-performance sport system has undergone a reckoning since athletes exited Beijing91裸聊视频檚 Winter Olympics in 2022.

Athletes spoke to parliamentary committees of current and historical instances of abuse 91裸聊视频� mental, verbal, physical and sexual 91裸聊视频� and fear of retribution for reporting it.

Members of Parliament heard athlete welfare took a back seat to the pursuit of medals.

Hockey Canada became a lightning rod for what Qualtrough and her predecessor Pascale St-Onge called a safe sport crisis in the country after allegations of sexual assault by members of the national junior men91裸聊视频檚 hockey team at a 2018 gala.

Those allegations have not been proven in court. Five players, who all went on to play in the NHL, go before a jury trial next year.

Revelations that Hockey Canada had reached a settlement with the complainant and that the organization used a portion of registration fees to pay out such settlements, amplified calls for sport culture change.

The commission will operate for 18 months, produce two reports and will hold a national summit.

Qualtrough has compared the sport commission91裸聊视频檚 work to that of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which between 2007 and 2015 investigated harm caused by residential schools, and proposed both solutions to that harm and prevention of further abuse of Indigenous Peoples.

Athletes Empowered, formerly Gymnasts For Change, lobbied for a public inquiry.

Managing director Amelia Cline hopes the commission will conclude one is needed, but in the meantime, she says she91裸聊视频檚 already met with Maisonneuve.

91裸聊视频淲e are very eager to see this commission not just produce a report that sits on the shelf, that it actually needs to have meaningful recommendations,91裸聊视频� Cline said.

The commission won91裸聊视频檛 have the power to compel people to speak to Maisonneuve, she said.

91裸聊视频淭here needs to be a safe space for survivors to share their stories, but there also needs to be a forum in which the sport organizations that have allowed this crisis to continue are actually held accountable, and their feet are held to the fire, which seems to be lacking in this commission process,91裸聊视频� Cline said.

91裸聊视频淔rom our perspective, the commission is what we have right now, and we will support our survivor community to engage with it if they wish to, but our concern is that it91裸聊视频檚 still not going to have the teeth that it needs to.91裸聊视频�

The commission has a public online submission portal for athletes, parents, coaches, officials, administrators, academics, subject-matter experts and sports-related organizations who want to participate.

There are options to take a survey, write to the commission and speak to the commission.

Hearings will be held in-camera 91裸聊视频渢o provide a safe forum for participants to freely share their experiences and opinions91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频渁llow participants to meet with the commission without certain information being recorded in any form.91裸聊视频�