CP's Lori Ewing reports three University of Toronto sport scholars are asking Canada's sport minister to take a look at Own The Podium's mandate amid mounting allegations of athlete maltreatment.
In a letter to Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge, KPE's Bruce Kidd, Peter Donnelly and Gretchen Kerr said that OTP has a medals-first mandate that puts pressure on national sport organizations to prioritize top results over health and safety.
“What began as a carrot has turned out to be a stick,” the letter said. “We believe that the ultimate measure for the success of the Canadian sports system should not be medals, but the health and wellbeing of athletes, and the quality and quantity of the opportunities we provide Canadians in sports, both at the highest levels and at the grassroots.”
Kidd, Donnelly and Kerr joined a growing chorus of voices for sweeping changes in Canada's sport system after recent accusations of maltreatment in a number of sports.