Sport Canada says it will halt a commissioned survey on inclusion in sport after receiving a letter signed by over 200 members of academic and sporting communities saying it is discriminatory against transgender athletes.
Canadian soccer stars Quinn and Erin McLeod were among those who signed the letter urging Sport Canada to withdraw funding for the poll.
Athlete Ally, an organization that advocates for equal opportunity in sport regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, said in a press release that the Canadian High Performance Athletes 1 survey uses language that discriminates against transgender athletes.
An outreach email obtained by The Canadian Press states that the survey is part of a study commissioned and funded by Sport Canada examining the views of elite female athletes regarding the inclusion of trans athletes in female categories.
“Sport Canada has heard the concerns and met with the partners who have raised them to discuss how we can move forward,” they said in a statement to The Canadian Press.
“Sport Canada is committed to inclusion and as such we are trying to ensure that all voices are heard on issues related to inclusion in sport.”
Allegedly problematic language in the survey included the use of the phrase “biological males” in reference to transgender athletes, which athlete Ally says “degrades and devalues the identity and humanity of trans women and ignores scientific research showing that transgender athletes’ athletic ability.” -Women are not comparable to those of cisgender men.”
The survey was conducted by researcher Catherine Devine, who conducted a survey of 15 female British Olympians in 2019 in response to International Olympic Committee guidelines for transgender athletes.
A June 2019 article in Britain’s The Guardian newspaper said the survey found that 11 of the participating athletes agreed that “it can never be fair for transgender athletes who have gone through male puberty to to compete in women’s sports”. another refuses to answer.
Quinn, an Athlete Ally ambassador, became the first openly transgender athlete to win an Olympic gold medal when they helped the Canada women’s soccer team to the top of the podium at the Tokyo 2020 games.
“As a transgender athlete who has proudly represented Canada on the Olympic podium, I am dismayed that Sport Canada is funding research that perpetuates deeply harmful stereotypes about transgender athletes,” Quinn said in a press release.
“Particularly with the onslaught of laws and policies banning transgender youth from sports, we need research that dispels myths and misinformation and promotes inclusion, not discrimination.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 9, 2022.
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