6.

Analysis of External Consultant’s Review of

June 16, 2017 Combative Sports Incident

Recommendation
That the January 17, 2018, Citizen Services report CR_5450, be received for
information.

Executive Summary
Following a fatality at a boxing match sanctioned by the Edmonton Combative Sports
Commission in June 2017, City Administration and the Commission initiated an
incident review.

Alberta-based consultant MNP LLP was contracted to review the circumstances

surrounding the event and identify any opportunities to improve safety at future
combative sports events. MNP initiated its work in September 2017 and submitted a
final report in December 2017. The report was released publicly on December 14,
2017. The 18 recommendations and next steps are summarized in this report.

Report
Background
Alberta-based consultant MNP was contracted through a limited request for proposal
to:
● Review and summarize all facts pertaining to Mr. Hague’s participation in the
event.
● Identify the processes and procedures in place that worked well in these
circumstances, as well as those that might be improved.
● Summarize any areas for improvement (with recommendations, if any) based
on the event, the policies and procedures applicable, and any applicable best
practices.
● Liaise with technical boxing experts as well as other sports governance bodies
as needed to advise, guide and direct any recommendations accordingly;
● Provide and reference support material that illustrates industry standards and
expectations for work of similar scope and magnitude.
● Prepare a final report meeting the objectives set out above.

ROUTING - Community and Public Services Committee | DELEGATION - R. Smyth/D. Aitken

January 17, 2018 – Citizen Services CR_5450
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The description of work, states that “the Consultant [was not to] make any findings of
fault, legal responsibility or conclusions of law.”

MNP initiated its work in September 2017 and submitted the final report in December
2017. The report was released publicly on December 14, 2017. Due to the amount of
information it provided, MNP separated the report into two volumes. Volume 1
(Attachment 1) presents detailed findings, observations, and recommendations to
improve fighter safety, while Volume 2 (Attachment 2) contains the detailed results of
the policy review, policy comparisons, and assessment of the effectiveness of
Edmonton Combative Sports Commision policies. In accordance with privacy
legislation, parts of the attached MNP Report have been redacted.

MNP Report Recommendations

The MNP review indicates that the City’s policies on combative sports are generally
aligned with practices from other organizations for combative sports events. The
review provides 18 recommendations designed to strengthen existing policies and
procedures aimed at improving safety, governance and oversight of combative sports
in Edmonton in a sport that has inherent risks for participants. Administration finds
these recommendations reasonable and appropriate and is conducting further
analysis, and reviewing what will be required to implement changes.

1. The recommendations relate to five key themes:

● licensing and permitting
● fighter safety
● oversight and monitoring
● qualifications of officials
● establishment of a provincial commission

Administration will prioritize and focus on recommendations related to fighter safety

first. The recommendations are as follows:

Recommendation #1: Promoter Annual Licences and Events Permits

(Theme: Licensing and Permitting)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should review its current annual
licensing and event permitting policies for promoters to determine if policy
requirements are relevant and necessary in order to properly assess the ability
of a promoter to stage a combative sports event safely.

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Recommendation #2: Improve Document Retention

(Theme: Licensing and Permitting)
● The Executive Director should maintain documentation supporting the
completion of key activities in its licensing and permit approval processes to
demonstrate compliance with City bylaws and Edmonton Combative Sports
Commission policies, including but not limited to:
○ receipt of information from promoters in relation to a licence and/or event
permit application
○ determination of whether the information received meets policy
requirements
○ approval or denial of the promoter’s licence and/or permit

Recommendation #3: Contestants’ Annual Licences and Event Permits

(Theme: Licensing and Permitting)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should review its current annual
licensing and event permitting policies for contestants to determine if the policy
requirements provide the Executive Director with relevant and sufficient
information to issue the licence and assess contestants’ fitness to fight.

Recommendation #4: Unsanctioned Events

(Theme: Fighter Safety)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should review Policy #5 -
Contestants and Officials Involved in Unsanctioned Events and clearly redefine
“unsanctioned.” The definition should be expanded to address contestants
participating in events in jurisdictions outside of Canada, in particular, the
United States and Europe or contestants from foreign jurisdictions participating
in events in Edmonton.

Recommendation #5: Medical Suspension History

(Theme: Fighter Safety)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should maintain a file on all
contestants who participate in combative sports events in Edmonton. The file
should contain the contestant’s complete fight and medical suspension history.

Recommendation #6: Review of Medical Suspensions

(Theme: Fighter Safety)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should require its Executive
Director to review medical suspensions imposed by the ringside physicians to
ensure minimum policy requirements are met.

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Recommendation #7: Minimum Medical Suspensions

(Theme: Fighter Safety)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should make recommendations
to City Council to revise the power, duties and functions of its Executive Director
to include the power to increase medical suspensions imposed by ringside
physicians where the suspension imposed does not meet minimum policy
requirements.

Recommendation #8: Medical Suspension Policy

(Theme: Fighter Safety)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should revise its policy on
medical suspensions to remove the differentiation between combative sports
type and related medical suspensions. This will promote consistency among the
combative sports and better achieve the intent of the policy which is to protect
contestants from the impacts of repetitive brain trauma.

Recommendation #9: Indefinite Medical Suspension (Head Blows)

(Theme: Fighter Safety)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should require its ringside
physicians to suspend all contestants who sustain head injuries, in either a
winning or losing effort, indefinitely. Contestants should not be cleared to fight
until they have provided the Executive Director or the Chief Medical Officer with
medical evidence that they have not sustained brain trauma due to repetitive
head blows.

Recommendation #10: Consultation with Physicians

(Theme: Oversight and Monitoring)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should ensure its Chief Medical
Officer and other physicians are consulted on any policy revisions that impact
fighter safety.

Recommendation #11: Reporting Results to Official Websites

(Theme: Oversight and Monitoring)
● Following the submission of the results of combative sports events, including
medical suspension information, for those events held in Edmonton to the
official websites, the Executive Director should review the posting of these
results and medically related suspensions by the official websites to ensure the
results and suspension history have been updated accurately.

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Recommendation #12: Matchmakers

(Theme: Oversight and Monitoring)
● The City should amend Bylaw 15594 to include the licensing of matchmakers
and the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should develop and
implement a licensing policy for matchmakers. The licensing process should be
conducted on an annual basis and require the submission of information that
will allow the Executive Director to assess the experience and results of the
applicant.

Recommendation #13: Anonymous (Confidential) Tip Line

(Theme: Oversight and Monitoring)
● An anonymous tip line (phone, email or both) should be introduced, which can
be used by individuals to advise the appropriate officials of concerns with the
health and safety of contestants. This may include providing information on
injuries that may not have been disclosed by the contestant during required
physical exams, at the weigh-in, or through official declarations.

Recommendation #14: Roles and Responsibilities of Officials

(Theme: Qualifications of Officials)
● The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission should make a number of
enhancements to existing policies regarding combative sports officials, including
verification of valid licences, articulation of roles and responsibilities, and
definitions.

Recommendation #15: Policy Development

(Theme: Oversight and Monitoring)
● To address the deficiencies noted in the Edmonton Combative Sports
Commission’s policies, MNP recommends the Commision develop and
implement a policy development framework. The purpose of this framework
would be to define a process for the identification, development, approval,
communication and administration of all Commission policies and to promote
the creation or revision of policies.

Recommendation #16: Mandate of the Commission

(Theme: Oversight and Monitoring)
● City Council should amend Bylaw 15638 to specifically include the
Commission’s responsibility for oversight, monitoring and reporting on the
application of policy within the Commission’s mandate. This would include the
Edmonton Combative Sports Commission reporting annually to City Council on
the effective and consistent application of its policies.

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Recommendation #17: Reporting to the Commission

(Theme: Oversight and Monitoring)
● As supported by Bylaw 15638, Section 30, the Commission should require the
Executive Director to submit a written report to both the Edmonton Combative
Sports Commission and the City Manager, on at least a quarterly basis, that
includes key performance indicators and statistics to show that approved fighter
safety policies are being followed.

Recommendation #18: Provincial Commission

(Theme: Provincial Commission)
● The City should work with the provincial government and municipal counterparts
to encourage the implementation of a provincial commission.

A more detailed description of the recommendations, Administration’s response,

potential focus areas and areas for further review are captured in Attachment 3.

Edmonton Combative Sports Commission

At its monthly meeting on December 18, 2017, the Edmonton Combative Sports
Commission provided its preliminary feedback on the MNP report. The Commission
passed five motions (Attachment 4).

Next Steps
Administration will continue to work with the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission
and others to revise and, where appropriate, develop new policies based on the
recommendations from MNP, focusing first on those emphasizing fighter safety. In
some cases, this will require thorough consultation with the industry and other experts.

Based on this analysis, Administration requires a minimum of six months to implement

17 of the recommendations. The 18th recommendation - working to encourage the
implementation of a provincial commission - may take significantly more time, as many
elements are beyond the control of either Administration and/or the Edmonton
Combative Sports Commission. The approach to this recommendation will include
both the administrative and elected official levels.

Administration will also use these six months to address bylaw and governance
changes arising from the recommendations and Edmonton Combative Sports
Commission’s December 18, 2017, motions.

Public Engagement
As a third-party was contracted to conduct this work and to maintain the objectivity of
the review, public engagement was limited to those interviews conducted by MNP.

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In the process of the review, MNP interviewed a number of key officials present at the
June 16 event, members of the Hague family, as well as combative sports
commissions in other jurisdictions for the purposes of leading practice research.

Corporate Outcomes and Performance Management

Corporate Outcome(s): ​Edmonton is a safe city.

Outcome(s) Measure(s) Result(s) Target(s)

Ensure development of a Number of Not applicable 100% of

liveable, safe and recommendations recommendations
sustainable community. implemented or implemented or
actioned. actioned.

Attachments
1. The City of Edmonton Combative Sports Review Report: Volume 1
2. The City of Edmonton Combative Sports Review Report: Volume 2
3. Administration’s review of the MNP Recommendations
4. Edmonton Combative Sports Commission Motions

Others Reviewing this Report

● C. Campbell, Deputy City Manager, Communications and Engagement
● T. Burge, Chief Financial Officer and Deputy City Manager, Financial and
Corporate Services

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