Saskatchewan member of Parliament Kevin Waugh has drawn heated criticism for his recent comments that female athletes have been treated the same as men.

Several times during a Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, Waugh said female athletes have always been treated equally to their male counterparts. In one reference, he said female athletes are treated better than men. As Waugh spoke, some in the crowd shook their heads or began to whisper among themselves.

In my own career, the inequity was grotesque. There remains a gross disparity. - Ann Peel

Vera Pezer said Waugh's comments "kind of made the hair on my neck stand up."

"I don't think that's accurate at all. [The comments] were unfortunate and uncalled for," said the four-time national curling champion.

Waugh, who represents the Saskatoon-Grasswood riding, is a longtime sportscaster who now sits on the Canadian parliamentary committee examining women and girls in sport. He should know better, said Pezer and other critics.

"That does concern me if this is the kind of [national] leadership that's going to be addressing the issue," said Pezer.

World record holder Ann Peel wasn't impressed either.

"It was very disappointing," said Peel, who won 20 Canadian race walk championships but retired just as her event was included in the Olympics in 1992.

"In my own career, the inequity was grotesque. There remains a gross disparity."

Discrimination no longer a problem: Waugh

In an interview Monday, Waugh said he was simply emphasizing the great job Saskatchewan has done in promoting gender equity in sport. He said discrimination used to be a problem, but he didn't see it as a major issue anymore.

He cited the strong female football programs and prominent coaching positions occupied by women at the University of Saskatchewan.

Kevin [Waugh] shoots off the cuff. He gets onto a roll and he just keeps on going. - Keith McLean, Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame board chair

"We think we're doing some things right in Saskatchewan. That is not the case in other provinces," he said.

Waugh added that he has forcefully advocated during committee meetings for including more women in prominent coaching positions.

Waugh also said he meant his comments to refer to the way the media treats female athletes equally.

Inequality remains, say athletes

Pezer and Peel said Waugh is downplaying past and current sexism.

Today, the less successful men's squads at the University of Saskatchewan play in the prime-time slots.

At the Olympics, there are still fewer medals available for women in cycling, weightlifting and other sports.

And at times female athletes continue to be noticed more for their appearance than their performance.

It wasn't only women in the audience who noted Waugh's comments.

"For a moment I thought that Saskatchewan had decided to turn the clocks back on Saturday night ... to 1952!" five-time Olympian Tim Berrett wrote in an email.

Tim Berrett was one of a few athletes who were unimpressed with MP Kevin Waugh's comments at a Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Chuck Stoody/Canadian Press)

Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame board chair Keith McLean said Waugh's claims of historic equality "weren't really true," but were likely not meant to be negative.

"Kevin shoots off the cuff. He gets onto a roll and he just keeps on going," McLean said.

Encouragement for women in sport

Olympic bobsledder Jamie Cruickshank, one of Saturday's Hall of Fame inductees, said every effort must be made to encourage girls and women in sport.

"I definitely don't think it's an issue we should forget about," said Cruickshank, who volunteers for girls' sports organizations.

She declined to comment on Waugh's remarks, saying she'd rather focus on mentoring girls and addressing the high dropout rate of girls in sport.

Waugh's committee unveils its first report on women and girls in sport early in the new year, with a broader report to follow.