Sail Canada Lawsuit: Allegations, Response, and Discipline

A former Olympic-pathway sailor is suing Sail Canada, the Sail Nova Scotia Association, and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron for approximately $9 million, alleging the organizations failed to act after she reported being sexually assaulted by a fellow competitor and then retaliated against her for speaking up. The Sail Canada lawsuit was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on September 23, 2025, and none of its allegations have been tested in court.¹

Who Filed the Lawsuit

The plaintiff is identified in court documents only as “A.B.” She is a woman from British Columbia who was 21 at the time of the alleged assault and had moved across the country to pursue high-performance sailing as a member of the Nova Scotia provincial skiff squad, an Olympic training program. She also worked as a sailing instructor and coach at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax.¹

Her lawyer, Mike Smitiuch, said A.B. is no longer involved in competitive sailing. “Sadly, she’s given up on her goal of being an Olympic sailor,” he told reporters.²

What the Lawsuit Alleges

According to the statement of claim, A.B. was sexually assaulted on July 16, 2024, by a fellow competitive sailor on the provincial skiff squad who also served as a co-coach at the yacht squadron. She reported the assault ten days later, on July 26, 2024, to a member of the squadron.¹

The suit does not target the accused assailant directly. As Smitiuch put it, A.B. is “suing for the lack of action taken by the authorities” rather than litigating the assault itself.² The claim falls into three parts:

Retaliation and isolation. After A.B. reported the assault, she alleges, she was removed from the squad’s WhatsApp group chat, blocked on social media by teammates, and cut off from training. About a month later, she says a friend of the accused confronted her and demanded she recount details of the assault in front of co-workers.¹
A coordinated decision not to report. The lawsuit alleges that coaches and employees of the Nova Scotia sailing organizations “executed a coordinated plan not to report” the assault to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, then the body overseeing safe-sport complaints for federally funded organizations.¹
Promotion of implicated individuals. Two people named as defendants under the Sail Nova Scotia Association were later promoted to positions of greater authority at sailing clubs in other provinces, according to the claim.¹

A.B. alleges the treatment caused severe mental harm and ultimately forced her to resign from her coaching position in August 2024. The roughly $9 million she seeks breaks down as $1.5 million in general damages for mental distress, $2.5 million in special damages, and $5 million in punitive damages. No criminal charges have been laid in connection with the alleged assault.²

How the Organizations Have Responded

The lawsuit names Sail Canada, the Sail Nova Scotia Association, the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, and several unnamed individuals within those organizations. A.B. has asked that the case be tried in Kingston, Ontario, where Sail Canada is headquartered. As of the initial reporting in late September 2025, none of the defendants had filed a formal defense.¹

Each organization issued a public statement. Then-board chair Kate MacLennan said Sail Canada would “fully cooperate with the legal process” and noted it had worked with Safe Sport partners, including the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, since learning of the situation in 2024.² Sail Nova Scotia president Sarah Flanagan and executive director Frank Denis confirmed the association had engaged legal counsel, expressed support for the complainant, and pledged a thorough review. Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron general manager George Kapetanakis said the club is strengthening its policies but declined further comment while the matter is before the courts.¹

A Separate Human Rights Complaint

A.B. also filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission in July 2025 over how the organizations handled the investigation. According to Smitiuch, that complaint focuses on “institutional betrayal, retaliation and collusion.”²

Disciplinary Action Since the Filing

The accused sailor, Jordan Samuel Oszlak, has been placed under a provisional suspension from all Sail Canada events, activities, and certifications pending the conclusion of legal proceedings. Sail Canada’s disciplinary record lists the suspension as relating to a charge of sexual assault.³

Separately, Mike Milner, Sail Canada’s high-performance director from 2018 until he left the organization in September 2024, was given a four-month suspension under the national Abuse-Free Sport program. The sanction, posted to the public registry on January 8, 2026, cited findings of aiding and abetting, neglect, and psychological maltreatment. No specific incident was detailed in the registry entry, and Sail Canada confirmed Milner is no longer employed or contracted by the organization.⁴

Where the Case Sits in Canada’s Safe-Sport System

The lawsuit lands in the middle of a transition in how Canada polices misconduct in amateur sport. The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, which administered the Universal Code of Conduct for federally funded sport organizations, ceased operations in 2025. As of April 1, 2025, investigations into abuse complaints are managed by Sport Integrity Canada, formerly the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. Processes already underway under the old office continued under its authority through to completion, which is why Milner’s sanction was still posted through the original registry in early 2026.⁴

Smitiuch has said a settlement could involve proactive structural changes rather than being purely monetary. “It does seem like the old boys club is alive and well in the sport of sailing,” he told reporters.²

1
Global News. Sailing Sexual Assault Allegation Failure to Act
2
National Post. Former Canadian Olympic Hopeful Says Sailing’s Governing Bodies Failed to Act on Rape Allegation
3
Sail Canada. Disciplinary Hearings Actions
4
CBC. Mike Milner Suspension Sail Canada National Abuse-Free Sport Program