PHOTOMONTAGE THE PRESS
Hockey Canada, which has been under fire for weeks, announced Thursday morning that it wants to reopen the investigation into allegations of gang rape involving members of the 2018 national junior team.
The anger of the population, the grumbling of elected officials and pressure from sponsors finally made Hockey Canada give in. Its leaders have admitted their wrongdoing. At the same time, they agreed to reopen the investigation into eight players from the 2018 national junior team, targeted by allegations of gang rape.
Posted at 7:10 a.m.
It was time.
Unfortunately, this mea culpa comes much too late.
Hockey Canada should never have covered up this affair. Hockey Canada should never have withheld the results of the independent investigation. Hockey Canada should never have recalled 2018 players to the national team, without knowing if they were guilty. Hockey Canada should never have settled with the plaintiff – a process that allowed the eight players to avoid a lawsuit.
The management of Hockey Canada was troublesome. Uncomfortable. Indecent. The worst ? Even after forty-two goals in their own net, the bosses of the organization are still in office. And they cling. They hope that the admitted fault, the Canadians will forgive them their lack of judgment. It is far from certain.
Hockey Canada bosses agree that “the process was not perfect”. That’s an understatement. “We recognize that many of the actions we are taking today should have been taken sooner, and faster. ” In effect. It would have avoided public opprobrium, appearance before parliamentarians and the flight of sponsors. “What happened in 2018 in London, Ontario is completely unacceptable. Note the use of the past tense, rather than the conditional. An acknowledgment of the aggression, and its seriousness. “We reiterate our apologies to the population, the young woman and anyone who has suffered the consequences of this affair. »
This time, Hockey Canada found the right words. The good tone. The bosses stopped justifying their mistakes. They are repentant. Embarrassed. contrites. Nothing to do with the distrust displayed before the parliamentary committee last month. They promise to reopen the investigation. To force players to testify, under penalty of being banned from the national team. To get to the bottom of things, what. The victim could also collaborate in the independent investigation, which was not the case in 2018.
Should we rejoice?
Sure. Although my expectations remain modest. The penalty for players who refuse to cooperate in the investigation is not very restrictive. Few of them have a real chance of being selected for the Olympic Games or the World Championship. In fact, only four players from the 2018 junior roster have subsequently represented Canada on the international scene.
I also hope that, in addition to these promises, Hockey Canada will provide parliamentarians with the results of the first survey in the coming hours. The one carried out between 2018 and 2020, and which did not make it possible to identify the culprits. Canadians need to know what information Hockey Canada executives had before settling the matter out of court.
Apologies are fine.
Now, it will take transparency.