4. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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4.4.1.2 Athlete Assistance Program
The Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) identifies and supports athletes already at or having the potential to be in the top 16 in the world in their sport. It is the only Sport Canada program to provide direct financial support to athletes. Sport Canada works closely with NSOs to develop selection criteria for the AAP and to identify qualified athletes. The criteria are based on performances at national and international competitions, and both the process of developing them and the process of selecting qualified athletes are well-documented and transparent. All the documentation pertaining to the program is available in both official languages. There is some subjectivity in the selection of athletes in team sports and in sports which are judged (such as figure skating and synchronized swimming), but these are inherent in the sport and do not necessarily discriminate against one linguistic group or the other. Our survey of carded athletes found that both English-speaking and French-speaking athletes are equally satisfied with the objectivity of the selection process for sport competitions.
The AAP program requires NSOs to provide any athlete receiving assistance with a National Team Handbook in the athlete’s preferred official language. The team handbook outlines carding criteria and procedures, criteria and procedures for selection to national team competitions and training camps, and discipline and appeals procedures.
In our survey of athletes, French-speaking respondents indicated that they experienced greater difficulty communicating with Sport Canada (presumably the AAP program) in their preferred official language than did English-speaking respondents. On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 means “Never” and 7 means “Always,” English-speakers rated Sport Canada’s ability to communicate with them in their preferred language at 6.92. Only one Anglophone athlete indicated that Sport Canada “sometimes” could not communicate in English. Responses from French-speaking athletes to this question ranged from “Never” to “Always” and averaged 5.85.
Four positions within Sport Canada are dedicated to this program: all of them require intermediate-level second language skills (Level B). At the time of our study, three positions were filled with English-speaking incumbents who met the language requirements, and the fourth position was vacant. AAP staff may be called upon to discuss program issues directly with athletes, including explaining the nature of their entitlements and the reasons for their selection or refusal. Discussions of this nature would normally require an advanced level (C) of second-language skills. According to Public Service Commission standards, C is the minimum level of second language ability in speaking that should be identified for positions which require discussing or explaining policies, procedures, regulations, programs and services.
The Athlete Assistance Program recently received a budget increase of 60 percent, and Sport Canada has announced that it will revise and simplify carding criteria to consolidate the various levels into two: “senior” and “development” cards. It should take advantage of this program revision to improve the linguistic capability of program staff.
The Commissioner therefore recommends that:
4. By April 1, 2001, Sport Canada review the language requirements of positions in the Athlete Assistance Program, with a view to improving the program’s French-language capability, and take the necessary measures to ensure that incumbents meet the revised requirements.
