May 06, 2014 (Ottawa, ON) – Cycling Canada (CC) and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) have agreed to work jointly on an initiative to consult with members of the Canadian cycling community. The consultation will consist of a series of interviews designed to gather information regarding the prevalence, actual or perceived, of past and present doping activity inside the sport. Critically, the source of the information being sought will remain fully anonymous and thus protected from any possible sanction or retribution. All information will be gathered by a fully independent third party who shall be unconnected and unaffiliated with both the CCES and CC.

Goal:
The primary goal of the consultation is to engage various members of the cycling community in a discussion around their experiences, personal knowledge and perceptions with respect to the issue of doping in the sport of cycling in Canada.  The information gained from such discussions will permit: (i) a better understanding of the extent to which performance enhancing drugs may have been or still are a part of, or are perceived to be part of, the culture of cycling in Canada, (ii) a better understanding of how athletes make the decision to use performance enhancing substances and how they get introduced to them, (iii) the design of more effective education and prevention strategies which will be implemented into the Race Clean program, and (iv) more targeted testing and more focused investigations to root out any doping activity that may continue to exist in the sport.

Approach:
To enable members of the cycling community to disclose their experiences, personal knowledge and perceptions without a fear of sanctions pursuant to the Canadian Anti-Doping Program, interviews will be conducted with athletes and support personnel by phone or in person by a fully independent third party.
The individuals actually interviewed will be unknown to CC and CCES

Interviewer:
An independent company with significant expertise and experience in the Canadian sport community, LBB Strategies has been hired by CC to select the interview subjects and to conduct the interviews. LBB Strategies has been given clear and concise Terms of Reference to govern all aspects of the consultation process.

Interviews will be done voluntarily; however, not all individuals who express an interest in being interviewed will be contacted by the interviewer. Those who wish to share their experiences and information with the interviewer can contact Joannie Charbonneau at joannie@lbbstrategies.com or Benoit Girardin at benoit@lbbstrategies.com or 450 979-2230. The consultation process will examine the time period from January 1, 1998 to the present.

Interviews will take place between early May and early July 2014 with a final report being provided to Cycling Canada and the CCES in July.  The report will be made public.

In addition to the Cycling Canada project described above, the UCI’s Cycling Independent Review Commission (CIRC) is also underway.

The work of the CIRC on behalf of the UCI differs substantially from the anonymous nature of the Cycling Canada / CCES consultation.  The CIRC has the power to impose sanctions on any license holder who admits to an Anti-Doping Rule Violation and it may also propose reduced sanctions to any license holder who provides valuable information concerning doping activity by others.

The CIRC has been established by the UCI to conduct a worldwide independent investigation into the causes of the pattern of doping that developed within cycling and allegations which implicate the UCI and other governing bodies and officials over ineffective investigation and enforcement of such doping practices.

Cycling Canada urges Canadian license holders and support personnel that are contacted by the CIRC, to cooperate to the fullest extent in this important UCI work.