Former Canadian women’s soccer Coach John Herdman, left, prepares for practice with Bev Priestman, at the time a member of his coaching staff, ahead of the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, in Houston, on Feb. 20, 2016.Neil Davidson/The Canadian Press
A majority of MPs voted Wednesday to meet privately with an investigator who reported on spying problems at Canada Soccer, before deciding whether a larger parliamentary probe with compelled testimony is required to examine culture issues at the sport’s national governing body.
That decision by the standing committee on Canadian heritage effectively shut down an NDP proposal calling for testimony from some of the key players in the Canada Soccer spying scandal, as requested by MP Niki Ashton.
Ms. Ashton filed her motion in response to recent reporting by The Globe and Mail into workplace and spying issues inside the women’s program. She wanted former head coach Bev Priestman and her predecessor, John Herdman, now head coach of Toronto’s Major League Soccer club, TFC, to appear before MPs, along with current and former executives, players and the federal Minister of Sport.
Instead, 10 MPs on the 11-person committee approved an amendment by Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux that called for lawyer Sonia Regenbogen, who recently submitted her report into the spying scandal at the Paris Olympics this past summer, to meet in-camera. After that briefing, the MPs can then decide whether they want a larger hearing that would call on multiple witnesses, he said.
“We need to start by talking to this lawyer who wrote the investigation,” Mr. Champoux told the committee, in French. “Everyone takes this issue seriously.”
Ms. Ashton said the amendment “gutted” her motion and she was the lone dissenting voice against the approach the committee opted to take. She argued the federal government, which oversees Canada’s National Sport Organizations (NSOs), needed to intervene after revelations about culture and spying issues inside the program that have “damaged Canada’s reputation.” She referred to reporting by The Globe that showed warnings from staff about these issues were documented in workplace investigations conducted inside the women’s program more than a year before Paris.
“Canadians deserve the truth,” Ms. Ashton said. “We’re talking about much more than just spying now.”
She said it was critical MPs had the opportunity to study broader issues involving Canada Soccer beyond spying, and get a full accounting of whether public funds, including those from programs such as Own the Podium, were used to help the national teams cheat.
But Jonathan Robinson, a spokesperson for the Minister of Sport, said Canada Soccer was already under greater scrutiny than other NSOs because of financial issues that predated the spying scandal – with Ottawa demanding a financial audit and a governance review, and the creation of an external advisory group, for the federation to continue receiving federal funding.
The minister, Carla Qualtrough, told The Globe what happened in Paris was part of “a broader culture within Canada Soccer,” but declined to comment on recent reporting on alleged governance lapses at the federation, or any of the policy changes announced by organization since Ms. Regenbogen’s report was released.
“Canada Soccer should undertake organizational changes, implement the recommendations of its recent governance review and establish an ethical environment. This is what the Government of Canada expects, and what Canadians expect, of their national soccer organization, and what we will hold them accountable to do,” Ms. Qualtrough said in a statement.
Ms. Regenbogen’s report, released Nov. 12, found Ms. Priestman and her assistant coach Jasmine Mander directed a staffer to use a drone to spy on an opponent’s closed practice ahead of their match at the Olympics, breaking French law – although their names were redacted from the report. Canada Soccer says neither coach will return to the organization.
The Globe previously reported that Canada Soccer had been warned about problems inside the women’s program a full year before the Olympics. It commissioned two investigations in 2023, including one by Ottawa lawyer Erin Durant that documented staff concerns that people were being forced to spy and other allegations of harassment and a toxic work environment. Those probes did not find violations of the organization’s code of conduct and ethics, according to Canada Soccer.
The Globe previously reported former interim CEO Jason deVos was directly made aware of concerns around spying and other workplace complaints in 2023. He told The Globe he could not discuss Ms. Durant’s findings because of confidentiality issues, but said its findings were treated with “the seriousness and diligence they warranted,” and said he introduced policy changes as a result.
Muneeza Sheikh, Ms. Priestman’s lawyer, has said The Globe’s reporting contained allegations that were untrue, but did not specify what she was referring to. She said the allegations against her client are aimed at discrediting “a gay woman in professional sports.”
Dean Crawford, a lawyer for Ms. Mander, said the allegations reported by The Globe that she directed spying efforts are inaccurate, but also declined to elaborate.
