Canoe Kayak Canada (CKC) is committed to the shared obligation of creating a sport culture and environment in which all participants can thrive. CKC’s Safe Sport policy aims to protect the health and well-being of the organization, its members, and participants. This policy and its reporting process ensure an environment free from maltreatment, violence, harassment, abuse, and discrimination.
In the interest of having a harmonized safe sport system from coast to coast to coast, CKC has designed its policies so that every PTSO, Division and Club can adopt the CKC Safe Sport Policies. CKC will continue to work with our members to adopt the Safe Sport policy into their own organizations, as well as understand and comply with screening and educational requirements. If necessary due to Provincial/Territorial (PT) legislation or requirements from PT funding partners, CKC is pleased to work with any PTSO, Division or Club to modify the CKC Safe Sport Policies for application so that they may apply at the PSTO, Division or Club level, as applicable. CKC will also continue to work with Provinces and Territories (for example Quebec) where other Safe Sport Policies have been made mandatory to understand how the different jurisdictions can co-exist.
Adoption of Policies:
To facilitate the adoption of CKC’s Safe Sport Policies, CKC has created a Safe Sport Member Declaration (EN/FN) which can be adopted by member organizations at the Board level and signed off on by the appropriate representative. Once completed, the declaration should be sent to CKC (lmacadam@canoekayak.ca).
CKC is also recommending that members develop a webpage dedicated to Safe Sport for information and links to the CKC Safe Sport hub page.
The steps for adoption are laid out in this graphic.
A detailed Q&A document can be found here which details frequently asked questions.
Training & Screening
The Safe Sport policy contains recommended and required training and screening for different roles based on the risk level associated with the role and authority of community members. All individuals whose position with Canoe Kayak Canada or a Member is one of trust or authority will be required to submit screening documents and/or complete training.
The policy’s Screening Requirements Matrix as part of the Screening Policy outlines Risk Levels and Associated Recommended and Required Training and Screening.
Training requirements include the required completion of CAC Safe Sport Training and/or Respect in Sport – Activity Leaders Training for level 2 and 3 risk levels, and the recommended completion of this training for level 1 risk levels. In addition, all Coaches are required to be Making Ethical Decisions certified.
Screening requirements for risk levels 1, 2 and 3 include submitting screening documents to an independent third party appointed by CKC that will function as the Screening Committee. The required documents based on an individual’s risk Level are detailed in the Screening Policy. They include an Application form, a Screening Disclosure form and may include letters of reference, a driver’s abstract, an Enhanced Police Information Check (E-PIC) or a Vulnerable Sector Check depending on the applicable risk level. Organizations will have the option to use the secure, confidential platform CKCMember.ca to submit their screening documents and have them independently verified. Details on this process will be communicated in the coming weeks.
The complete Safe Sport policy can be found here.
Please visit CKC’s Safe Sport page for more information.