Ian Moss, CEO of Gymnastics Canada, speaks with reporters outside the courthouse in Sarnia, Ont. on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. Moss and Sarah-Eve Pelletier, Canada's first sport integrity commissioner, will have the floor today in Ottawa. Moss and Pelletier are among those testifying before members of Parliament as the Standing Committee on the Status of Women continues its hearings on the safety of women and girls in sport.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Spowart
Gymnastics Canada chief executive officer Ian Moss was on the hot seat at the status of women hearings on safety of women in sport on Monday.
Moss was repeatedly questioned by MPs about Gymnastics Canada’s handling of coaches Ian Bard and Scott McFarlane amid accusations he knew of complaints from athletes.
Moss argued that since they were allegations, his hands were tied for legal reasons.
MP and status of women chair Karen Vecchio closed Moss’s participation in the meetings by demanding all GymCan email correspondence, including confidential, on Bard and McFarlane.
MP Andreanne Larouche opened the second half of the meetings by stating Moss had “verbally assaulted” Kim Shore on his way out.
Shore is a former GymCan border member and a vocal advocate for gymnasts as a founder of Gymnasts For Change Canada.
Neither Shore nor Moss responded immediately for a request for comment.
The status of women study comes after an outcry from hundreds of athletes in several sports, including gymnastics and bobsled and skeleton, about toxic environments in their national federations.
Testimony began in late November, with the prominent theme being the need for a national judicial inquiry into sport.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2023.
