OTTAWA — The Liberal chair of the parliamentary heritage committee says she plans to canvass members about whether they should investigate allegations of spying by Canada’s national soccer teams, which have been unearthed at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Hedy Fry, who represents Vancouver Centre, said in an email she intends to contact the committee to “gauge” their interest and availability. The House of Common is on a summer break until September.
Controversy has embroiled the Olympic women’s soccer team after an analyst was caught using a drone to spy on New Zealand’s practice before their July 25 game, which Canada won 2-1.
An analyst and assistant coach were sent home and Canada Soccer suspended head coach Bev Priestman, saying it will investigate the matter.
Canada unsuccessfully tried to appeal a six-point penalty it received from FIFA for the team’s use of drones, which are prohibited. That attempt resulted in the release of an email Priestman sent back in March to an external human resources consultant where she said using drones to spy on the practices of other teams was “the difference between winning and losing.”
At issue at the time was the fact an unnamed analyst wasn’t comfortable with being asked to spy, which Priestman in her email referred to as “scouting.”
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