“It will be good for everyone. It’s super motivating to watch our Canadian athletes perform so well. »
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The Press spoke with the Federal Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, on the sidelines of the qualification of the Canadian men’s soccer team for the 2022 World Cup.
From her dressing room at BMO Field at halftime, the member for Brome-Missisquoi was delighted with the imminent victory of the selection. Canada was leading 2-0 at the time, and dominating the game.
“I really hope that events like these will bring young people back into physical activity. »
Because the pandemic has forced many young people to stop on this plan, she says.
“There are many who have stopped practicing physical activity because it was more complicated with health rules. »
A phenomenon that has affected girls in particular.
“What worries me is that already, girls and young women practice less sport in organized circles than men, than boys in general. With the pandemic, this gap has widened because everyone has been at a standstill for a while. And the number of young girls who said they don’t want to get back into physical activity, it’s really concerning.
“There is a lot of work ahead of us after this pandemic. »
And speaking of women in sport, sitting with a journalist in a stadium for a historic soccer match, a particularly circumstantial issue had to be addressed.
That of the absence of a women’s professional soccer league in the country.
“The federal government is not involved in professional sport,” replies Pascale St-Onge immediately when questioned on the subject.
“But obviously there are still a lot of inequities in sport between men and women. »
She then writes down her two “greatest wishes”.
She would like “the public to recognize the talent of our women, whether in soccer or hockey or any other sport”.
Then she puts her finger on the sinews of war, emphasizing the need “for the private sector to get involved in women’s sport”.
“When you look at the Tokyo Olympics, the event that had the highest ratings in Canada was the women’s soccer team final. At the Beijing Games, it was the women’s hockey game.
“There is room, the public is interested in women’s sport. The private sector needs to get involved. »
The Qatar issue
Canada’s victory was clear: it was going to confirm its ticket to Qatar. This is obviously good news, sportingly.
But in terms of human rights, “it’s far from being an exemplary country,” acknowledged the minister.
Amnesty International has reported numerous cases of migrant labor abuse. Homosexuality is illegal there. There are serious issues in terms of the status of women.
“Everyone was offended when FIFA awarded the World Cup to Qatar. These are issues that we have discussed. »
She then refers to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which forced “the sporting community to ask questions and to intervene like never before”.
“We have always said that we have to separate sport and politics. I’m pretty much in favor of that. But there are times when everyone has to stand up, including the sports community. »
— Pascale St-Onge
Canada had not qualified for the World Cup for 36 years. So there is no recent precedent to refer to as to whether the country would send diplomats to Qatar, as it usually does for the Olympics. Beijing in 2022 was the exception to the rule.
At the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Vladimir Putin, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, were present, among others.
The question arises, according to the minister.
“I find it important that countries that share our values get involved in international sport and want to host these competitions. It saves us from finding ourselves in countries with which we are not comfortable. »
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