Commission of Inquiry into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance

Patricia Pickard is Vice-Dean of Professional Schools and an assistant
professor in the School of Human Movement at Laurentian University.

In 1988 the Honorable Charles Dubin was appointed commissioner to
examine drug use and abuse by Canadian athletes, with the mandate to
investigate sports that receive their funding directly from the federal
government.

The “Dubin Report,” released in 1990, reviews the doping issue and
makes recommendations related to our government’s involvement in
sport. The Commission believes that, while the government should
continue its financial commitment to sport, it has become too involved
in the day-to-day operation of the sport governing bodies, focusing its
efforts almost solely on high-performance sport. Although there are many
recommendations, the following four are particularly worthy of note.
First, funding for Canadian amateur sport should provide programs for
all Canadians in all regions of the country, ranging from broad-based
programs to high-performance sport. Second, the government should remove
itself from the hands-on approach, while developing an arm’s-length
involvement. Third, eligibility of athletes and competitive programs
should be administered by the sport governing bodies. And fourth, a
demonstrated commitment to ethics in sport must be a criterion to
receive federal funding. In addition to these recommendations, and the
emphasis on drug use and doping control, the report provides a good
review of the structure of amateur sport in Canada and an excellent
philosophical perspective on ethics and morality in sport.

Clearly, the “Dubin Report” contains substantive recommendations
that could have a significant impact on government involvement in sport
and doping control. The high cost of the Dubin Commission and the
attention it generated dictate that action is needed now.