In Canada, the federal government established the Commission of Inquiry Into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance, headed by Ontario Appeal Court Chief Justice Charles Dubin. The Dubin Inquiry (as it became known), which was televised live, heard hundreds of hours of testimony about the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs among athletes.
The inquiry began in January 1989 and lasted 91 days, with 122 witnesses called, including athletes, coaches, sport administrators, IOC representatives, doctors and government officials.
The Dublin Inquiry recommended that the Athlete (the Applicant) Tony Sharpe and other named athletes be suspended for life from federal funding. However the Athlete was not suspended from competition as an athlete.
The negative public attention drawn to the actions of the Applicant has had both damaging and stigmatizing effects on his personal reputation and dignity, including being rejected from university programs and post graduate opportunities. In 1993 the Applicant began working at Xerox Canada in sales. After six years he moved from Xerox to a position in sales with Bell Canada where he worked for nearly eight years until cutbacks ended his career.
In 2006 the Applicant re-committed himself to training, mentoring and involving himself in sport. He incorporated a company called “Need 4 Speed” which advocates a “sport for life” mentality of using sport to prepare young athletes for the rest of their lives. Through Need 4 Speed the Applicant has worked with many provincial and national youth and junior champions from a variety of sports. He also runs an SAT prep course for his senior athletes to assist them in obtaining university scholarships.
The Dubin Report also outlines enumerate factors (The Dubincriteria) to be weighed in determining whether the lifetime withdrawal of access to direct federal funding should be lifted.
Therefore the Applicant filed an application for reinstatement in July 2012 to Sport Canada and he was heard for the arbitrator.
After the statements made by the Applicant and sustained by recommendations the arbitrator concludes that the Applicant (now 51 years old) has made an important contribution to Canadian track and field. The Applicant is a talented and well accomplished athlete and coach. These are favourable accomplishments that could be applied more broadly if the Applicant became entitled to direct federal funding.
Consideration to all of the written and oral evidence the arbitrator is satisfied that the Applicant has met the Dubin criteria necessary for reinstatement to the program of federal funding. The Dubin criteria, weigh substantially in favour of reinstatement and it is in the public interest to grant the Application.
Therefore the arbitrator decides on 30 July 2012 to grant the Application and direct that the Applicant’s lifetime withdrawal of access to direct federal funding should be lifted forthwith.
