Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee

Call for application — At-large members

January 10, 2024

Attention: Canadian Senior National Team Athletes,

The Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee (Committee) is an important initiative to ensure that athletes’ perspectives and advice inform Sport Canada’s activities. The Minister of Sport and Physical Activity will engage the Committee to identify opportunities to incorporate high performance athletes’ perspectives in the development and implementation of Government of Canada programs and policies in sport and physical activity.

Since the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity will now chair the Committee, the call for at-large applications is reopening for high performance athletes at the national senior team level.

Please note that the applications received last year will still be taken into consideration.

This call-out is seeking applications from Canadian senior national team athletes for at-large athlete members to the Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee.

Eligibility

To be considered for one of the at-large high performance athlete positions, you must:

• be at least 18 years of age
• be a high performance athlete (as defined below)
• not be convicted or otherwise sanctioned for 1 or more of the following offences:
  • a doping offence pursuant to the World Anti-Doping Code or Canadian Anti-Doping Program rules
  • any other offence or breach of any policies or rules of the Athlete Assistance Program (if a carded athlete) and/or a National Sport Organization

For the Committee’s purpose, a high performance athlete must meet all of the following requirements to be defined as such:

• be a member of a Senior National Team for one of the federally funded National Sport Organizations (as an individual or on a team)
• be an athlete whose sport has a world championship competition (whether Canada sends a contingent or not)
• be an active athlete or having retired within the last 8 years:
  • a retired athlete can be considered for membership within 8 years of their retirement, even if the duration of their term on the Committee spans beyond the eighth year

Selection process

Sport Canada will review all the submissions in the coming weeks.

Effort will be made in the selection of the Committee members to ensure the group reflects gender balance as well as Canada’s diversity with respect to its regions, official languages, ethnicities, cultures, disabilities and life experiences.

We intend to confirm the full membership of the Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee early 2024 with a first meeting soon thereafter.

Please refer to the information below to learn more about the Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee.

If you have any questions about the Committee, please contact the Committee Secretariat at comitedesathletessportcanada-sportcanadaathletecommittee@pch.gc.ca.

Mandate

The Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee (Committee) provides advice and guidance to inform the activities of the Government of Canada.

The Minister will engage the Committee to identify opportunities to incorporate athletes’ perspectives in the development and implementation of Government of Canada programs and policies in sport and physical activity. The Minister and Secretariat will also seek input from members on topics for discussion. Topics could include:

• Canadian Sport Policy action plan
• High Performance Strategy
• funding programs, including the Athlete Assistance Program, Sport Support Program and Hosting Program
• sport system governance and accountability
• athlete representation
• athlete wellness and transition
• equity, diversity and inclusion
• safe sport

Membership

The Committee may have up to 12 active athlete members (core and at-large), including:

• the President (or designate) of the AthletesCAN Board of Directors
• the Chair (or designate) of the Canadian Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission
• the Chair (or designate) of the Canadian Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Council
• nine at-large high performance athletes

On an ongoing basis, the Secretariat will aim to ensure the Committee’s membership is reflective of Canada’s diversity.

Duration

The core positions from AthletesCAN, the Canadian Olympic Committee Athletes’ Committee, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Council will be filled by the Minister (or designate) according to their respective terms with their originating committee.

Each at-large member may serve for a term of 2 years, with the opportunity to be considered for 1 additional term.

Roles and responsibilities

Committee members will:

• consistently attend Committee meetings (in-person and virtual)
• provide the athletes’ perspectives to Sport Canada’s current or contemplated policies, programs and decisions
• liaise between their athlete networks and the Committee to convey athletes’ views to the Minister
• prepare for and participate actively in discussions
• review and prepare feedback on issues and/or documents shared with the members, including when absent from meetings
• ensure the Secretariat receives input on requests in a timely manner
• contribute to an atmosphere of openness and respect
• share space, speaking time and opportunities fairly and equitably

Meetings

The Committee will meet in person or virtually every 2 months on an ongoing basis. As needed, ad hoc meetings may be organized to address emerging or time-sensitive issues.

For in-person meetings, the Secretariat will aim to leverage annual opportunities within the sport sector, such as the AthletesCAN Forum, the Petro Canada Sport Leadership sportif Conference, the Canadian Olympic Committee sessions, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee sessions.

Members are expected to prioritize the Committee meetings. However, given the variability of members’ schedules, the Secretariat will aim to be flexible and accommodating where possible. If a member is unable to attend meetings, they must send the Secretariat advance notice.

Financial

Membership on the Committee does not constitute employment with the Government of Canada. Members will not be remunerated for their participation on the Committee.

While it is expected that the majority of meetings will be virtual, the Government of Canada will cover appropriate travel and accommodation expenses for any in-person meetings according to the National Joint Council’s Directive on Travel.