OTTAWA — The spotlight on preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio blinded members of Parliament this week to another issue in Canada's Olympic community: the fallout from sexual abuse allegations inside the Olympic committee itself.
Women first accused Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut of sexual harassment last October and he was forced to resign, although he has not faced any charges.
The allegations led to a review that found more than 100 staff experienced or saw harassment during his tenure; while the full review was never made public, its eight recommendations are now being implemented.
In its wake, two executives and a manager were fired. Jean-Luc Brassard, the Rio chef de mission who had been outspoken about the issue, later quit, saying his concerns about the case caused friction with some committee members.
But when it came to whether MPs had any questions on the subject when a delegation of COC officials appeared before them, the answer was no.
"I don't know why we didn't," said Liberal MP Seamus O'Regan. "I wish we had more time."
The COC is traditionally invited to appear before the Commons heritage committee leading up to an Olympics, a spokesperson for the organization said when asked whether they were expecting questions on the subject.
The Games begin in August.
There's typically an unofficial "bad news" blackout in the weeks leading up to the Olympics, noted Helen Lenskyj, a professor at the University of Toronto who has written extensively about gender and the Games.
"MPs in particular would want to avoid looking like party-poopers by bringing up the sexual harassment problem in the COC," Lenskyj said.
"The only ethical issues they would worry about just before the Games are drug-related."
MPs did ask about doping, the Zika virus, marketing and broadcasting rights and a host of other subjects. Liberal MP Darrell Samson said they were all important topics.
Why wasn't sexual harassment one of them?
"I don't think it's the committee's job," he said.
The COC received $521,000 from the federal government last year for its operations and in 2015 received a $3-million grant towards the construction of their new headquarters.
But unlike the U.S Olympic committee, created by federal legislation, the COC is independent and not-for-profit, said Rachel Corbett, the co-founder of Sport Law & Strategy Group, who has been helping the COC implement many changes.
It's also not subject to the charter, and so MPs have no business quizzing it about internal matters, she said.
"It's a question of time and place," she said.
NDP MP Pierre Nantel did allude briefly to the scandal during a preamble to one of his questions but didn't ask the executives explicitly to address it.
"It's important we talk about it, absolutely, but I'm also conscious of making the least amount of noise possible for the athletes so they can concentrate on their performance," Nantel later said.
Fighting sexual harassment in sport has been a battle waged for decades, said Karin Lofstrom, the former executive director for the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport.
She said there's no doubt the COC is aware people are watching. They continue to publicly discuss the issue within Canada's sporting community, even if they weren't asked about it on the Hill.
They are implementing all of the recommendations from the internal review, including new policies and procedures on ethics, discrimination, harassment and whistleblowing. Other changes inside the organization include mandatory training on harassment and bullying for all board members, staff and members of Olympic mission teams.
The focus might be on the upcoming Games in Rio right now but it will revert back, Lofstrom said.
"This doesn't go away."
