The Canada women’s national team’s battle with their federation has now reached the halls of the country’s government.
Addressing a Thursday hearing held by the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, four representatives of the national team’s players’ association — Janine Beckie, Quinn, Sophie Schmidt, and Christine Sinclair — detailed the nature of their ongoing dispute with Canada Soccer.
“Canada Soccer treats the women’s game as an afterthought,” said Schmidt, who previously said that she had to be talked out of retiring from the national team over the strife between the federation and players. “It has failed to put in place any structure, resources or plan for the development and future success of the women’s game in this country.”
Canada’s players moved to strike during February’s SheBelieves Cup over cuts to funding and an ongoing collective bargaining agreement, only to end up having to play due to Canadian labor law. Canada’s players will be in a legal position to strike in April’s FIFA window, and as of last month said they would do so if their demands were not met.
The fallout, which included Canada Soccer threatening to sue the players at one point, has seen federation president Nick Bontis resign. Sinclair, the team’s captain and the most prolific goalscorer in international soccer history, noted that Canada Soccer’s interim president Charmaine Crooks has not yet reached out to players.
Quinn added that Crooks is not someone the players believe they can work with, calling her a member of the “old guard” at Canada Soccer.
Quinn: "I don't believe we have confidence in the new leadership of Canada Soccer. (Charmaine Crooks), through her time on the board, has not shown her support for women's soccer."
Calls Crooks part of the "old guard."
— Joshua Kloke (@joshuakloke) March 9, 2023
On Thursday, shortly before the players offered their testimony — and to the chagrin of the players’ association representatives — Canada Soccer released details of their most recent CBA proposal.
“It is time to get a deal done,” said federation general secretary Earl Cochrane in Canada Soccer’s press release. “We’ve been negotiating in good faith and want to get to a resolution with our national teams. In order to get there, we need both of our national teams to agree. Our women deserve to be paid equally and they deserve the financial certainty going into the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.”
For the players, the negotiations might be difficult given the tattered relationship between them and the federation.
“We need to rebuild the trust with the association,” said Beckie. “Multiple times, they’ve broken that trust. The number one thing we’ve asked for is transparency.”
Sinclair offered a particularly galling anecdote, detailing a meeting in which Bontis openly dismissed her during a meeting between Canada Soccer officials and the players’ association.
“I was tasked with outlining our compensation ask on behalf of the [women’s national team],” said Sinclair. “[Bontis] listened to what I had to say and then later in the meeting referred back to it as, quote, ‘what was it Christine was b— about?’”
Beckie added that this trip to testify was her first visit to Canada since April 2022, with Canada Soccer not holding training camps in the country or building a training facility. “There are only one or two playable grass pitches in the country,” Beckie said. “Having a national training center is a dream of ours.”
Quinn detailed that Canada’s smaller squad sizes have resulted in support staff having to step into 11-vs-11 scrimmages. Per the OL Reign midfielder, that means those staffers have an additional task on their plate distracting from their job, while the team has training games featuring people who are not on the same level as national team soccer players.
Sinclair emphasized that the players are not simply looking for higher wages, but that salary is part of an equation that would represent equal treatment.
“Pay equity is actually like just a little piece of the puzzle. It’s about equal treatment,” explained Sinclair. “It’s about equal opportunities, equal resources, and honestly, until that happens? Yeah, we’re gonna be at a stalemate.”
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