Liberals, Bloc join forces to cover up soccer scandal

OTTAWA – On Monday, at the parliamentary committee for Canadian Heritage, Liberal and Bloc MPs teamed up to vote against a motion brought forward by NDP MP Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski) to launch a public hearing into the drone scandal that rocked Canada’s women’s soccer team and Team Canada at the Paris Olympics last summer.

“Canadians expect fair play from our athletes and it’s a shame that those that are meant to set them up for success, their coaches and officials let them down,” said Ashton. “The Liberals made it clear they don’t care about accountability, or how our athletes were thrown under the bus.”

Instead of standing up for transparency and accountability, the Bloc Québécois sided with the Liberals.

“It is deeply disappointing that the Liberals and Bloc want to cover up a scandal that has damaged Canada’s reputation in soccer and sport on the world stage—especially as we head into co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” said Ashton. “The reality is, Canadians want the best for our athletes and fair play from Soccer Canada."

“Unfortunately, today, the Liberals and Bloc showed they would rather cover up the spying scandal than seek accountability, get to the bottom of what happened and make sure it never happens again."

The motion said the following:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of no less than six hours to study the role of officials associated to the Canadian women’s soccer team and Canada Soccer in the use of drones for spying during the Paris Olympics or in previous competitions, which has damaged Canada’s reputation and punished the players for something they had no part in, and that the committee summon, pursuant to standing order 108(1)(a) Bev Priestman, Jasmine Mander, Joseph Lombardi and John Herdman to appear before committee for no less than two hours and before December 11th, 2024 in addition to the Chief Executive Officer and representatives of Soccer Canada and representatives of FIFA, and past or present Team Canada soccer players; and that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House; and that pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.