Sport Canada was aware of an alleged sexual assault tied to a Hockey Canada event in 2018 — but, according to a senior director of the organization, did not inform the sport minister’s office.
Michel Ruest also told members of Parliament at a House of Commons heritage committee meeting Monday that no one followed up with the national governing body, either.
His comment comes after two separate allegations of group sexual assault have rocked the world of Canadian hockey in recent months, prompting calls for widespread culture change in the sport.
In 2018, a woman filed a complaint saying eight unnamed players from Canada’s 2018 world junior team assaulted her while she was intoxicated at a gala event in London, Ont. The allegation made headlines when, in May, TSN first reported that Hockey Canada had quietly settled a lawsuit with the woman.
Global News reached out to the agents for all players who were on the roster at the time of the alleged incident. Several players have since released public statements denying their involvement. Read the full list of responses from the team in this online post.
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Last week, reports surfaced that Hockey Canada maintained a fund that drew on membership fees to pay for uninsured liabilities — including sexual abuse claims. This information was included in a July 2021 affidavit sworn by Glen McCurdie, who was then Hockey Canada’s vice-president of insurance and risk management, as part of a lawsuit launched by an injured player in Ontario.
Last Tuesday, Hockey Canada said they would no longer use this fund for sexual abuse claims.
Then, on Friday, another allegation emerged. Hockey Canada and Halifax police both confirmed they are investigating an “alleged group sexual assault” that they say involved members of the 2002-03 world junior hockey championship team.
The backlash against Hockey Canada’s handling of the allegations has been swift. By late June, MPs had convened an initial parliamentary committee to grill Hockey Canada officials and sport minister Pascale St-Onge about the settlement of the 2018 allegation.
Not long after the committee convened on June 20, Hockey Canada lost corporate sponsorships and federal funding was frozen.
On Monday, Hockey Canada released its plan to combat any “toxic” behaviour in the sport. The plan includes the implementation of a centralized tracking and reporting system for abuse complaints by the end of September.
Hockey Canada also said it will implement enhanced screening for high-performance players and will mandate that breaching the organization’s code of conduct or refusing to participate in an investigation could result in a lifetime ban.
— with files from The Canadian Press
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
