Two high-profile allegations of group sexual assault have rocked Canada’s hockey world – and now, lawmakers have an opportunity to push Hockey Canada Heads up for the answer.
The House of Commons Heritage Committee is meeting at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday and 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Global News will broadcast both the meetings live.
On Tuesday, members of parliament will have a chance to question Sports Minister Pascal Saint-Onge about high-profile sexual assault allegations.
As Hockey Canada reopens investigation into alleged sexual assault, here’s what 2018 players say so far
Then, on Wednesday, the committee will question the leadership of Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League and the Ligue de Hockey Junior Major du Québec.
“The kind of behavior we’ve seen from that organization and the kind of behavior we’ve encountered at other organizations has struggled with it, but it requires a real reckoning to make good decisions, unlike Hockey Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday while speaking to reporters.
How did we get here and what is the committee hoping to achieve? Here’s what you need to know.
A woman alleged that at a grand event in London, Ont. In 2018, eight unnamed players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team assaulted her while she was intoxicated.
The allegation made headlines when TSN first reported in May that Hockey Canada had quietly settled a lawsuit with the woman.
The response was swift. By the end of June, lawmakers had convened a parliamentary committee to inform Hockey Canada officials and Saint-Onge about the agreement.
Shortly after the committee convened on June 20, Hockey Canada lost corporate sponsorship and federal funding was frozen.
Global News contacted agents of all the players who were on the roster at the time of the alleged incident. Several players have since issued public statements denying their involvement. Read the full list of responses from the team here.
Last week, reports emerged that Hockey Canada is maintaining a fund that draws on membership fees to pay for uninsured liabilities – including claims of sexual abuse. As part of a lawsuit launched by an injured player in Ontario, this information was included in a July 2021 sworn affidavit by Glenn McCurdy, who was Hockey Canada’s vice president of insurance and risk management at the time.
Last Tuesday, Hockey Canada said they would no longer use the funds for sexual abuse claims.
Then on Friday another allegation came to the fore. Hockey Canada and Halifax Police both confirmed that they are investigating an “alleged group sexual assault” that they said involved members of the 2002–03 World Junior Hockey Championships team.
The day before the committee meeting, Hockey Canada released its plan to deal with any “toxic” behavior in the game, The plan includes the implementation by end-September of a centralized tracking and reporting system for abuse complaints.
Hockey Canada also said it would implement better screening for high-performing players and mandate that violating the organization’s code of conduct or refusing to participate in the investigation could result in a life ban.
What are the MPs hoping to achieve?
MPs were clear about what they expected to hear during the committee this week: transparency and accountability.
“I look forward to seeing more transparency from Hockey Canada. They have breached the trust of Canadians as an organization,” said Chris Bittle, a Liberal MP sitting on the heritage committee, in a statement sent to Global News on Monday. Have given.”
“While today’s statement from Hockey Canada is a positive step, we need more reassurance and look to action if there is any hope of regaining the trust that has been lost,” he said in reference to the organization’s action plan published on Monday. needed.”
The last time Hockey Canada appeared before the heritage committee was last month, lawmakers were left dissatisfied with the responses they received – as a politician told officials to their faces.
Police, Hockey Canada investigate second world junior team over alleged gang sexual assault
During a June 20 committee meeting, lawmakers learned that Hockey Canada had not been mandated to participate in its investigation, did not know that the identities of the players were the focus of the scandal, and paid settlements without a full picture of what happened. did.
“This June 2018 event will be talked about in many homes in this country: Should I include my daughter or my son in Hockey Canada events? I’m not sure about the answer here today,” Conservatives MP Kevin Waugh said during the meeting.
“I really don’t get any assurances from you that Hockey Canada has changed its harassment, bullying and abuse policies.”
Still, lawmakers hope this week will provide a new opportunity for answers they didn’t get from the organization last month.
“Hockey Canada has an opportunity to be completely transparent and fully accountable,” NDP MP Peter Julian said in an interview with Global News last week.
“This is really their last chance… I hope they step up because so far I have been very disappointed, as have most Canadians, for their lack of action, their secrecy, their lack of transparency and their lack of accountability. “
— Global News’ Eric Stober, The Canadian Press. with files of
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