Jakarta (ANTARA) – Canada announced on Monday the formation of an independent commission to investigate cases of abuse in sport, following a number of testimonies from national athletes.

Justin Trudeau’s government, however, decided not to conduct a national investigation despite numerous requests from sports activists.

“For 18 months, this commission will provide a forum to reveal the experiences of survivors, support healing and engage broadly in efforts to improve the sport system in Canada,” Sports Minister Carla Qualtrough said Tuesday, reported by the AFP.

In recent months, a number of athletes from various sports have testified before parliamentary committees about the physical and psychological abuse they suffered at the hands of coaches or officials.

On Monday, Qualtrough also apologized on behalf of the government to “those who have been injured, mistreated or mistreated in the Canadian sports system,” particularly those who suffered such cruel treatment as children.

“We need to talk about racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia. We need to talk about negative, inappropriate and dangerous behavior that is considered normal and even perpetuated in a toxic sports culture and that makes sport dangerous,” he said. he declared.

The committee will produce two reports proposing ways to reform the Canadian sports system.

“The government has found that Canada’s sports system is broken and in need of repair,” advocacy groups Gymnast for Change Canada and Global Athlete said in a statement.

However, the group said it was disappointed that “the minister did not support the call from survivors and their supporters for a nationwide inquiry that meets judicial standards with the power to subpoena documents and testimonials from organizations.”

In recent months, the Canadian sports world has been shaken by several scandals within several of their national sports federations, the most important being those of ice hockey and gymnastics.