Athletics Canada institutes new whistleblower policy
After two major Safe Sport complaints in one year, Athletics Canada has updated their policies
In 2019, Ken Porter and Andy McInnis of the Ottawa Lions and Dave Scott-Thomas of the University of Guelph, all faced Safe Sport allegations. In the case of all three men, they’ve each been banned for life from the sport. Since the investigations, Athletics Canada has made important updates to their Safe Sport procedures and added new clauses, including a whistleblower policy.
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The whistleblower policy
The purpose of the new policy is to allow Canada’s track and field athletes to come forward with a complaint, without fear of unfair treatment for doing so. They write, “AC pledges not to dismiss, penalize, discipline, or retaliate or discriminate against any person who discloses information or submits, in good faith, a report against a person under the terms of this policy.”
Beyond adding a Whistleblower Policy, Athletics Canada has added Athlete Protection Guidelines, a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy and a Screening Policy to check those who wish to volunteer at sanctioned events.
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How to report a complaint
If you believe wrongdoing has occurred, runners are asked to submit a form that includes the following: a written description of the act or actions that comprise the alleged wrongdoing (including the date and time of the action), identities the other individuals or workers (if any) who may be aware of, affected by, or complicit in, the wrongdoing, and assert why the act or action should be considered to be wrongdoing.
Athletes can report a complaint to athletics.ca/safesport.
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