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Sexual Assault

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Sport Minister Says Hockey Canada Needs Fundamental Shift

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Hearings were held yesterday on Parliament Hill regarding Hockey Canada’s response to sexual assault claims against members of the 2018 World Junior team.

A federal committee is reviewing the response, and discussions were had on where the organization goes from here.

Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge says Hockey Canada needs to make a fundamental shift.

“Canadians expect Hockey Canada to behave differently, and it requires leadership capable of doing so. Hockey Canada, the whole country is watching,” St-Onge said.

Lawyer testifies:

A lawyer re-opening the investigation testified before the committee yesterday.

Danielle Robitaille was hired by Hockey Canada, and is scheduling interviews with players from the 2018 World Junior team.

She says her mandate is to discover the truth.

“And to learn what happened in London at that event, and to investigate the allegations that came through to Hockey Canada,” says Robitaille.

Robitaille says ten players were interviewed during the initial investigation, but nine would not take part until the criminal investigation was concluded.

Hockey Canada ended up settling the lawsuit.

The committee will hear from Hockey Canada representatives today.

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Hockey Canada Releases Action Plan Ahead Of Parliament Hearings

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A new action plan from Hockey Canada.

It comes as members are set to appear before a federal committee this week to discuss their handling of 2018 sexual assault allegations against several players.

In a release yesterday, the organization says they’re adopting a universal code of conduct to prevent and address maltreatment in sport, as well as a new reporting system for all complaints of abuse or harassment.

Hockey Canada says training on masculinity, consent and toxic behaviours will be implemented for players and staff, with more screening for all high-performance players.

The plan adds to an announcement two weeks ago that the organization will undergo a full, third party review of its structure.

Last week, more sexual assault allegations against some of Canada’s 2003 World Junior team were unveiled, prompting Halifax Regional Police to open an investigation.

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PM Says Hockey Canada Needs To Regain Trust

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More must be done before Hockey Canada regains the trust of Canadian parents, from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

He made those comments while in Nova Scotia on Thursday for an announcement on clean energy projects in the province.

This comes as the organization continues to deal with the fallout of an alleged sexual assault and how they handled it, “Their behaviour over the past months has been not worthy of an organization that embodies so many hopes and dreams for young Canadians, for sport, for healthy living. So many parents entrust their kids to these organizations. We need to see Hockey Canada demonstrating a level of transparency, accountability, and understanding of the situation they are faced with. There needs to be a real reckoning with the kind of behaviour we saw from that organization,” Trudeau stated.

Allegations that members of the 2018 world junior team sexually assaulted a woman came to light in May. Word of an out-of-court settlement from Hockey Canada fuelled even more frustrations from Canadians.

“I think there’s a lot more that Hockey Canada is going to have to do before Canadian parents, like me, start trusting them,” Prime Minister Trudeau added.

Hockey Canada stated this week, that it would not use the National Equity funds to settle sexual assault claims.

The 2023 World Juniors are scheduled to be played in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick.

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Hockey Canada Says It Will Stop Using Fund To Settle Sexual Assault Claims

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Hockey Canada’s National Equity Fund won’t be used to settle claims of sexual assault.

Reports this week that the organization settled multiple claims with the fund sparked outrage from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday.

In a statement, Hockey Canada says they will stop using the fund for that purpose, effective immediately.

They say they’re beginning a full governance review of the organization, including the fund.

Trudeau said it’s hard for anyone in Canada to have faith or trust in Hockey Canada, and many are disgusted by what’s happening.

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Trudeau: Hockey Canada Sexual Assault Claims Fund Is ‘Absolutely Unacceptable’

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Our Prime Minister says Canadians don’t trust Hockey Canada right now.

Speaking to reporters in B.C. yesterday, Justin Trudeau says reports about the organization maintaining a fund to settle sexual abuse claims is ‘absolutely unacceptable.’

He says so many parents and Canadians who take pride in hockey are disgusted by what’s going on.

Trudeau says his government condemns the news, and demands that things change significantly.

The reports surfaced this week, as Hockey Canada re-opened the investigation into sexual misconduct claims by an unidentified woman against several players on the 2018 World Junior team.

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Hockey Canada Apologizes For Handling Of Sexual Assault Allegations

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Hockey Canada is saying sorry to those they’ve let down.

After allegations of sexual assault involving members of the 2018 World Junior team, the organization says they know they haven’t done enough to address the culture of toxic behaviour in the game.

All players will be required to take part in a re-opened investigation, and those who don’t face a ban from the program.

Hockey Canada says they’ll be performing a full review of governance, and all players and staff will undergo sexual violence and consent training.

The federal government and many sponsors withdrew support after the allegations surfaced in May.

A woman claimed she was assaulted by eight players in a hotel room after a charity event in London, Ontario.

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Police Investigate Decade Old Sexual Assault

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Seven charges have been laid in connection to a sexual assault police say happened in Red Rock ten years ago.

Nipigon Provincial police say they received a complaint last Thursday, the 28th, which resulted in the arrest of a 46-year-old man, from Red Rock.

He cannot be named to protect the identity of the victims.

Police add he will appear in court to answer the charges, which are four for sexual assault, and three for sexual interference.

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Bill Would Require Sexual-Assault Law Training for Judges

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A bill to require judges in Canada to receive sexual assault law training is being revived by the Trudeau government.

It was former Conservative MP Rona Ambrose who first introduced her private members bill in 2017 in an effort to give victims of sexual assault the trust they need in order to report it to authorities.

“So this bill is really a small part of a puzzle that we need to continue working on to build that confidence in our justice system so more people come forward and report their sexual assault or sexual abuse,” says Ambrose.

She says the bill is also a promise to sexual assault victims “that if they actually have the courage to report” the crime against them, and “if they in fact get to trial that the person presiding over their case actually is competent in sexual assault law.”

Justice Minister David Lametti explains the bill is designed to treat sexual assault victims with what he calls “the respect and dignity that they deserve.”