Canada safe sport commission to be led by former Ontario chief justice

Former Ontario chief justice Lise Maisonneuve will lead the Future of Sport in Canada Commission.

Canadian sports minister Carla Qualtrough also announced Thursday that Noni Classen and Andrew Pipe will be Maisonneuve’s advisers.

The commission’s mandate is to delve into problems amid what Qualtrough and her predecessor Pascale St-Onge have called a safe-sport crisis in Canada.

The commission has an 18-month mandate and will consult with sport bodies and survivors of abuse on how to improve the national sport system. It will produce two reports and hold a national summit to discuss preliminary findings.

Some former athletes, academics and former sports minister Kirsty Duncan have called for a public inquiry.

This year’s federal budget provided $10.6 million over two years to the commission.

Maisonneuve’s eight-year term as Ontario chief justice ended in May 2023. The judge from Timmins, Ont., was the second woman appointed to that position.

Ottawa’s Pipe was the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport chair from 1996 to 2004, and continues to serve as past chair and medical science adviser.

Winnipeg’s Classen is the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s director of education.

“We are committed to examining carefully the sport system in Canada and identifying the structures and processes that will support a values-based, safe sport system for all,” Maisonneuve said in a statement Thursday.

Qualtrough announced Dec. 11 that a commission would tackle safe-sport problems, but stopped short of a public inquiry.

An inquiry operates under terms set in the Inquiries Act and requires cabinet approval. Often led by judges, commissioners have power to subpoena witnesses, take evidence under oath and request documents.

Qualtrough has compared the