External report flagged Canada Soccer staff’s spying concerns a year before drone scandal

Canada Soccer commissioned a third-party workplace investigation into the women’s national team in 2023 that flagged staff concerns about spying on opponents, a finding delivered a full year before the Olympic drone scandal in Paris.Staff raised their objections to spying with an external investigator, Ottawa lawyer Erin Durant, who noted their concerns as part of a probe focused on alleged workplace harassment, a source familiar with the report said. The Globe and Mail has not reviewed the confidential report, which was delivered to Canada Soccer in July, 2023, just in advance of that year’s World Cup. The Globe is not identifying the source, who was not authorized to speak about the internal workings at Canada Soccer.