Parent's Guide to Sport'Aide and Québec Sport Complaints (PILS) 2026

Sport'Aide is an impartial organization. Its FAQ says the help service cannot provide representation, intervene in environments, give legal advice, or handle or receive complaints.

What you can expect is active listening, support and referrals from its intervention team. Its workshops can come to a sport environment, but they are awareness and prevention workshops and are not offered in response to a specific incident in your environment.

Yes to each, according to Sport'Aide's FAQ and service page:

• Confidential: all help service interventions are confidential.
• Anonymous: you can remain anonymous when you contact Sport'Aide.
• Free: the service is free.
• On behalf of someone else: you can contact Sport'Aide about someone in your circle. If a situation worries you, it is important not to stay alone with it.

Sport'Aide serves participants, parents, coaches and instructors, organizations, and officials and volunteers, in school, municipal and community settings, from amateur to elite level, in all disciplines.

If safety is at risk or someone is thinking about suicide, Sport'Aide says to contact 911, the Centre de prévention du suicide (CPS), or 811 option 2 (info-social).

Québec has two separate bodies:

• Sport'Aide is an independent nonprofit that gives listening, support and guidance. Its help service does not receive or handle complaints.
• The Protecteur de l'intégrité en loisir et en sport (PILS) is the recourse mechanism that receives complaints and reports. Sport'Aide describes it as confidential, independent, impartial and accessible, for anyone in sport, recreation or outdoor activities, including athletes, coaches, volunteers and managers, with the goal of keeping these environments safe and free of abuse, violence and discrimination.

Sport'Aide can help you file a complaint with the PILS, but it does not assess whether a complaint is admissible and has no access to files the PILS is handling. The Government of Québec's page for filing a sport and recreation complaint is at https://www.quebec.ca/tourisme-et-loisirs/encadrement-gouvernance-gestion-loisir-sport/porter-plainte-sport-loisir (in French).

According to the Québec government's page on filing a complaint or report with the Protecteur de l'intégrité en loisir et en sport (PILS):

• A complaint can be made by anyone, of any age, who has suffered harm to their physical or psychological integrity during a recreational or sports activity.
• A report can be made by anyone, of any age, who witnessed such harm during a recreational or sports activity.

So a parent who saw something happen to a child can file a report, and a young person can file a complaint about what happened to them.

Covered: harm to physical or psychological integrity, which may include violence, neglect, harassment or bullying, abuse, discrimination, mistreatment or exploitation. It can occur at practice, competition, in locker rooms or stands, during transport or lodging, or online. To be handled, the situation must be serious enough to leave marks or lasting effects, temporary or permanent.

Generally excluded: decisions to admit, exclude or not select someone; referee decisions; facility schedules; criteria for rankings, scholarships or recognition; and internal governance matters. The PILS may still act if these directly cause harm during sports or recreational activities.

Who a complaint or report can be about: mainly federations and recreation or sports organizations; individuals such as coaches, referees, managers, staff, athletes, participants, spectators, and parents or family members; and other organizations such as schools, colleges, universities, municipalities, transporters and private sports or recreation businesses.

You can file in any of these ways:

• Online form on the PILS website, pils.gouv.qc.ca
• Phone or text: 1 888 812-4191
• Email: plaintes.pils@pils.gouv.qc.ca

Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.; Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. Closed on statutory holidays.

If you are unsure whether a situation qualifies, you can contact the PILS for information. It can help you work out whether it is the right recourse and explain its jurisdiction and process.

Sport'Aide can also help you file a complaint with the Integrity Protector, but it does not assess whether a complaint is admissible and has no access to files the Integrity Protector is handling. Sport'Aide advises filing as soon as there are reasonable grounds to believe abuse, harassment, negligence or violence occurred, without waiting to judge whether it is serious enough.

The Québec government's page on filing a complaint sets out these steps:

1. The PILS contacts you within two business days.
2. It assesses whether the matter is within its jurisdiction and admissible. If not, it tells you about other options.
3. If admissible, it investigates or uses another suitable approach. It hears from all relevant parties, has investigative powers, acts impartially and does not represent any party.
4. It may bring the parties together to reach an agreement, but only if all parties consent in writing. Processing is suspended during this step.
5. It issues a conclusion report within 45 days of receiving the complaint or report. The report goes to the complainant, the person concerned and the organization involved.

You may be asked for relevant information (dates, recordings, photos, screenshots), to answer PILS emails or calls, and to be available for a meeting with PILS staff.

Besides its help service, Sport'Aide offers an accompaniment service (information, tools and group workshops to prevent violence) and free programs and approaches, including:

• À l'action: tools to raise awareness of bullying among youth.
• Mouvement allié·e·s: reflection on allyship with sexual and gender diversity.
• Cohaesia: three self-guided group activities for team cohesion and positive youth leadership.
• Holistik: helps athletes from Grade 7 through university access sport psychology consultations, with costs partially reimbursed based on family income.
• Demain un homme: educates young athletes, especially boys, on positive behaviour in sport and the influence of social norms.
• Moi j'embarque: promotes a hockey culture that balances well-being and performance by teaching life skills such as respect, mutual support and emotional management.

Sport'Aide's workshops are preventive. They are not offered in response to a specific incident in your child's environment.