Media Releases

Ottawa – May 1, 2024 – Sport Law and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) are proud to host the final Hope on the Horizon event in collaboration with Markel Canada on June 4 at the RA Centre in Ottawa. In addition to sharing the impact of the tour, Markel will be announcing an exciting new initiative that will enhance the insurance capacity of sport organizations.

Ottawa – March 20, 2024 – Over 600 sport leaders have participated to date in leadership, legal and True Sport workshops as part of the Hope on the Horizon Tour. Launched last April in Charlottetown, leaders from Sport Law and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) have travelled to eight different locations across the country to host important conversations about healthy, human sport and address many of the outdated legal and leadership practices that continue to plague sport. As one participant shared, “We can’t modernize sport on our currently fractured and broken system. Let’s figure out how to work better, together.”

Ottawa – March 14, 2024 – A new white paper from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) and McLaren Global Sport Solutions (MGSS) builds on expert perspectives and experiences shared during two international symposiums hosted in Toronto, Canada.

Ottawa – February 12, 2024 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Mitchell McKay, a softball athlete, received an 18-month sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected in-competition on August 2, 2023, revealed the presence of pseudoephedrine, a specified stimulant.

Ottawa - November 17, 2023 - The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) are proud to announce an extension of their partnership aimed at advancing their joint mission to protect the integrity of sport and the prevention of competition manipulation in Canada and internationally.

Ottawa – November 7, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Mohamed Aagab, an athletics athlete, received a three-year sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected in competition on May 7, 2023, revealed the presence of recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO), a prohibited peptide hormone.

Ottawa – September 27, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Jonathan Stanley, a powerlifting athlete, received a three-year sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected in competition on June 3, 2023, revealed the presence of trenbolone, oxandrolone, clostebol, nandrolone, drostanolone, and testosterone, six prohibited anabolic agents, as well as methylphenidate, a prohibited specified stimulant.

Ottawa – August 23, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Donovan Burgmaier, a U SPORTS football athlete affiliated with the University of Alberta, received a seven-year sanction for a second anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected out of competition on March 3, 2023, revealed the presence of dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a prohibited anabolic agent.

Ottawa – August 2, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Ludwig Amla, a Canadian Premier League (CPL) soccer athlete affiliated with the Halifax Wanderers Football Club, received a two-year sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected during an in-competition sample collection session on September 10, 2022, revealed the presence of terbutaline, a prohibited beta-2 agonist.

Ottawa – July 27, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Jean-Christophe Blanchet, a weightlifting athlete, received a three-year sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected during an out-of-competition sample collection session on February 25, 2023, revealed the presence of GW501516, a prohibited metabolic modulator.

Ottawa – July 10, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Costa Papanikolaou and Dimitrios Papanikolaou, two U SPORTS football athletes affiliated with McGill University, both received a sanction of 12 years for multiple anti-doping rule violations. The athletes’ urine samples, collected during in-competition doping control on October 23, 2021, and out of competition on October 13, 2022, all revealed the presence of SARM LGD-4033, a prohibited anabolic agent.

Ottawa – July 6, 2023 – Nearly 200 participants had a rewarding and positive experience with the first leg of the Hope on the Horizon Tour, joining Sport Law and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) to reclaim the promise of sport through a values-based approach to sport. The CCES and Sport Law have collaborated with provincial and territorial partners in Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories to host legal, leadership, and True Sport workshops.

Ottawa – July 4, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Navid Zanganeh, a wrestling athlete, received a four-year sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected during an in-competition sample collection session on March 11, 2023, revealed the presence of oxandrolone, a prohibited anabolic agent.

Ottawa – June 2, 2023 – Following a two-day symposium in Toronto, experts from a variety of industries identified the need for a coordinated pan-Canadian approach to prevent competition manipulation that is bolstered by comprehensive education.

Ottawa – May 25, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) launched a new e-learning course to educate Canadian Football League (CFL) players and personnel on the details of the new CFL Match Manipulation Policy - the first of its kind for a professional league in Canada.

Ottawa – May 16, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) and McLaren Global Sport Solutions (MGSS) are pleased to announce the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), together with its members bet365, Betway, and FanDuel, as the presenting sponsors of the 2023 Symposium on Competition Manipulation and Gambling in Sport. The sponsors share a commitment to combating betting corruption to protect the integrity of sport and regulated betting markets globally.

Ottawa – May 10, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Édouard Wanadi, a U SPORTS football athlete affiliated with Western University, received a sanction of four years for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected during out-of-competition doping control on October 11, 2022, revealed the presence of GW501516, a prohibited metabolic modulator.

Ottawa – April 27, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) and McLaren Global Sport Solutions (MGSS), with support from the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), are hosting a symposium with an intensive program that explores the threat of competition manipulation and gambling to Canadian sport. The goal of the 2023 Symposium on Competition Manipulation and Gambling in Sport is to develop a common way forward that will benefit sport and the gaming industry, as well as a comprehensive national program for all national and multi-sport organizations to adopt. The symposium has attracted registrants from around the world to gather in Toronto, Canada, on May 30-31.

Ottawa – April 24, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that under the rules of the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP), it has asserted two anti-doping rule violations against Dimitrios Papanikolaou, a U SPORTS football athlete affiliated with McGill University. The athlete’s urine samples, collected in-competition on October 23, 2021 and out-of-competition on October 13, 2022, both revealed the presence of SARM LGD-4033, a prohibited anabolic agent.

Ottawa – April 18, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Alex “Marcus” Vargas, a cheer athlete and athlete support person, received a lifetime ban for multiple anti-doping rule violations. The athlete acknowledged his own use of cocaine, as well as the administration and trafficking of cocaine to a protected person, in his role as an athlete support person, during the Alberta Cold Snap Classic on January 23, 2022.

Ottawa – March 29, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to join Abuse-Free Sport, the new independent program to prevent and address maltreatment in sport.

March 22, 2023 – In collaboration with several sport partners, Sport Law and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) will be hosting legal and leadership workshops across the country to increase the capacity of sport leaders to manage the complexities of leading an ethically driven and legally sound sport organization.

Ottawa – February 6, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Eric Chevrier, a weightlifting athlete, was reinstated from a lifetime ban from sport and is now...

Ottawa – February 2, 2023 – The Board of Directors of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) is pleased to introduce Jeremy Luke as the organization’s new President and CEO, effective February...

Ottawa – January 18, 2023 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) has launched an expanded reporting service to receive reports of both doping and competition manipulation from the sport...

Ottawa – November 4, 2022 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Christine de Bruin, a bobsleigh athlete, received a three-year sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected during out-of-competition doping control on August 28, 2022, revealed the presence of SARM LGD-4033, a prohibited anabolic agent.

Ottawa – November 3, 2022 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) has released “Transgender Women Athletes and Elite Sport: A Scientific Review.” The CCES commissioned this review of the scientific and grey literature regarding trans women athletes’ participation in elite and high-performance sport, with a focus on the state of literature about the science of testosterone and its impact on sport performance.

Ottawa – October 24, 2022 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Brendan Hagerman, a softball athlete, received a three-year sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected during in-competition doping control on August 2, 2022, revealed the presence of cocaine and amfetamine, two prohibited stimulants.

Ottawa – July 25, 2022 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that its board of directors has called on the Prime Minister of Canada and his Cabinet to take swift and...

Ottawa – July 13, 2022 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES), in collaboration with the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), are proud to announce a pilot project to help national sport organizations (NSOs) effectively manage the threat of competition manipulation. Six organizations have committed to working with the CCES for 18 months to implement a competition manipulation policy, which will be supported by education, reporting, monitoring, investigations, and disciplinary proceedings.