Lunn’s Failure Prorogues Athletes’ Peace of Mind
SIDNEY, BC – Green Party Leader Elizabeth May today called on Minister of State for Sport Gary Lunn to do his part to ensure our athletes’ success by removing the worry and distraction he has caused. Due to a lack of direction by Minister Lunn and a lack of funding going forward, Canadian athletes, trainers and coaches are worried about their livelihoods after the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Fresh from proroguing Parliament, the Conservative government is now proroguing support for our Olympians.
When contacted by the Toronto Star today, Minister Lunn could only laugh when asked about the amount of funding for our athletes after the Games. Instead of laughing while our athletes worry, Minister Lunn should step forward and do what is right.
Lunn‘s decision to bury the findings of the “2010 and Beyond” Panel has caused a funding crisis on the eve of the games, triggering layoffs across Canada’s high performance sport system and creating an unnecessary distraction for Canadian athletes going into the Games. The Canadian Sport Centre in Calgary has already been forced to issue pink slips to 39 of its fulltime sports science staff. Sport Centres across the country face far deeper cuts and reduced support for athletes on April 1st.
“Our athletes devote the best years of their lives to training and amateur athletics. They often live below the poverty level. They sacrifice to excel in their sport, making Canadians proud,” said May. “Instead of the unqualified support of their government, they now face an uncertain future – wondering if they have a job after April 1. Minister Lunn needs to act now to fix the mess he has made and provide clear direction on their future for our sport heroes.”
From coast to coast, Canadian sport leaders have united to speak powerfully in support of the successful Own The Podium program. For more than five years athletes have enjoyed a coherent and reliable support network through OTP. Understandably they don’t want to go back to the bureaucracy and infighting of the past. The report from the “2010 and Beyond Panel” reflecting this consensus has been on Lunn’s desk since last October.
“Paralyzed by politics, Minister Lunn has buried the report,” said May. “The sport community has been increasingly frantic in urging Minister Lunn to do his job and support the success we’ve created. By refusing to give assurance that funding will be continued he is robbing competitors of the peace of mind they need just when they need us most. It is disgraceful and, frankly, incompetent.”
Own The Podium has not been told if it can count on the $22 million in annual funding it will need from the federal government to continue to support world-class Canadian athletes.
“We have built up a network of some of the best coaches and athletes in the world. Without clear direction and continued funding other countries will jump on the opportunity to lure our talent away,” said May. “Alex Bowman returned from Australia and is set to lead Own The Podium’s effort for the Summer Games. Minister Lunn is putting all of that in question. What could be more stressful for competitors and coaches than not knowing how they will pay their rent a month after the games?”
Ms. May will be approaching the other party leaders in the coming days to ask them to join together in urging the Minister to make clear that he will accept the report of the “2010 and Beyond” Panel and act on its recommendations.
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Contact Information:
Debra Eindiguer
Press Secretary
C: 613.240.8921
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