'Finally': Canadian Para athletes to be financially rewarded for medals won at Paralympics
Canada's Paralympic medallists will earn equal to Olympic counterparts in Paris
In what's being called a game-changing moment in the sporting landscape of the country, Canadian Paralympians are now going to be financially rewarded for medals they win at the Paralympic Games beginning this summer at Paris 2024 and each edition of the Games thereafter.
The new Paralympic Performance Recognition program was announced Wednesday morning at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., with dignitaries, politicians and many athletes on hand.
Canadian Paralympians will now receive $20,000 for winning gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. This is equal to the amount Canadian Olympians receive.
Aurélie Rivard is a 10-time Paralympic medallist — including five gold medals — and she says this is a seismic shift that will have a long-lasting impact.
"The first word that came out of my mouth was 'finally.' We've been pushing for this for a long time. I was so relieved and happy and also proud of my country, of my federation, of everybody that contributed to it," she told CBC Sports.
"And I'm just excited also for the future generations that for them it's just going to be normal. So it's pretty exciting."
WATCH | CBC Sports' Myles Dichter discusses Paralympic medal reward program:
An initial $8-million endowment created by the Canadian Paralympic Committee's philanthropic partner, the Paralympic Foundation of Canada, is creating this program to ensure a sustainable funding model.
Half the money is coming from lead donor Sanjay Malaviya, who is matching a $2-million investment from the federal government.
An additional $2-million is still yet to be raised and Malaviya will also be matching that. The Malaviya Foundation's total contribution of $4-million is one of the most significant donations in Canadian Paralympic sport history.
"We should have been doing this from the start. I'm a little bit surprised we haven't been. And that's okay. That's all behind us," Malaviya said. "So let's turn this corner and let's be the kind of nation and the kind of people that respects all of us as brothers and sisters. I think that's a really good signal for us to send the rest of the world."
And this isn't his first substantial donation to Canadian athletes. In March 2022, Malaviya gave 130 Olympians and 53 Paralympians $5,000 each for winning a medal at the Tokyo and Beijing Games — that donation two years ago totalled $1.2-million.
WATCH | Sanjay Malaviya is making sure Canada's medal-winning Paralympians get paid:
Exemplifying human spirit
The Canadian healthcare technology entrepreneur from Hespeler, Ont., will be in Paris this summer cheering on the Canadian athletes. It marks the first time he's attending the Paralympic Games.
"Paralympians have always been Team Canada. I've had the privilege of meeting so many of them and hearing their stories. I ran out of tissues in my house. I couldn't contain the emotions. Very, very powerful," Malaviya said.
"Paralympians exemplify that human spirit and their resilience, the ability to overcome adversity, just to get to the start line and then to perform at a high level, represent your country and make us all proud, there's no better story, there's no better role model that I think we can have."
In an exclusive interview in Santiago, Chile, during the Parapan Am Games just two months ago, Minister of Sport and Physical Activity Carla Qualtrough was emphatic that the money for medals initiative would get done.
She was careful with how much detail she shared at that point but assured Canadians that Paralympians would receive financial rewards for their medals starting in Paris.
Qualtrough won three bronze medals in swimming at the 1988 and 1992 Paralympics, as well as four world championship medals for Team Canada, making this announcement very personal.
"This is a very welcome initiative and a game changer for Paralympic sport in Canada, recognizing the incredible amount of work, commitment, and resources required to compete at a world-class level," Qualtrough said.
"It is fantastic to know that today's Paralympians and the next generation of athletes to come will receive this much-deserved equitable recognition for their performances. I am so proud to be able to support the performance recognition program."
"It means that my country values my performances the same way [] as an Olympian"<a href="https://twitter.com/AurelieRivard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AurelieRivard</a> reacts to the announcement that Canadian Paralympic medallists will now be financially rewarded the same amount as Olympians 🇨🇦 <a href="https://t.co/SNkfa1op0F">pic.twitter.com/SNkfa1op0F</a>
—@cbcsportsCanadian Paralympic legend Chantal Petitclerc, who won 21 medals — including 14 gold — was a driving force behind getting this initiative to the finish line.
Petiticlerc is now a senator and in March 2022 she gave a speech in the House, asking why Canadian Paralympians were not financially rewarded for their athletic achievements.
Today's news is being met with relief and celebration for Petitclerc.
"A Paralympic medal is worth the same as an Olympic medal. And that message to our Paralympians, to kids with disabilities all across Canada, is what matters. This is history being made and this is huge," Petitclerc told CBC Sports.
"Olympians started to get money for medals in Beijing 2008. I came back home with five gold [medals], tons of recognition, but no bonuses. This injustice has been on my mind ever since. I am so happy to see it come to reality. In Paris, our medallists will be on the podium, and come home with the same recognition as our Olympians."
Petitclerc says she wants to thank the CPC and so many others who made this possible and adds it sends a clear message to everyone in the country about the value of Paralympians.
"They knew it was time to close that gap, and they figured it out," she said.
Addressing pay equity gap
The pay equity gap relating to funding for medals was thrust into the spotlight in the wake of the Beijing Games. Media attention and athlete pressure was ratcheting to a different level as many wondered why Canadian Paralympians were not receiving money for medals when their Olympic counterparts were.
In an interview with CBC Sports in March 2022, CPC CEO Karen O'Neill said the pay inequity for medals was such "an obvious gap" and that it was time to "get this done."
It took a lot of people coming together to get this across the line, says O'Neill, but the day has finally arrived thanks in large part to the athletes making their voices heard on this issue.
"The athlete voices coming out of Beijing, I truly think that was a tipping point. It's time to send a signal that our sports system needs to have equity in it and this is a first step," she said.
"I'm also hoping that with what we're experiencing in the Canadian sports system right now, we need some good news. I do believe there's lots of good news in Canadian sport right now, but it's being eclipsed by some of the not so great stories."
'This is a difference maker'
O'Neill says they looked at past Summer and Winter Games medal tallies to come up with $8-million threshold to begin, and that it was important to come up with a model to ensure this wouldn't be a one Games and done initiative and that it would be sustainable well into the future.
"So much of their journey is self-funded for competition and for equipment. So I assure you that the performance recognition funding, especially for podium funds, will be put to very good use in their athletic pursuit of their sport," O'Neill said.
Other countries, such as the U.S. and Australia, already pay their Olympians and Paralympians equally. Tokyo marked the first time that happened.
Canadian Olympians have been receiving money for medals for more than two decades through a bonus program called the Athlete Excellence Fund, which is entirely funded through the Canadian Olympic Committee.
For Rivard and hundreds of other Canadian Paralympians today's announcement represents more than a dollar sign — many say this is a massive step toward a more inclusive sporting framework in Canada that will also change the way people living with disabilities are viewed.
"It means that my country sees me and values my performances the same way and holds it to the same standard as an Olympian. So that I think will make the biggest difference," Rivard said.
"It's super, super exciting, but it's step one. It's going to take more than money. It's going to take much more resources. We need everybody. We need the media. We need the public. We need the athletes. We need the Olympians. We need the whole community to help us achieve that one goal of total inclusion."
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