We cannot say that the leaders of the junior hockey leagues, whether it is the commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ), Gilles Courteau, or the president of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), Dan MacKenzie , which oversees the three major junior leagues in the country, did not arrive prepared for their appearance before the parliamentary committee which looked into the outrageous revelations concerning the initiations undergone by young players.
They had in hand an expert report that they kept to themselves for more than a year on the abuse, intimidation and violence that is going on in these leagues. This report was commissioned by the CHL to counter a request for collective action made by three former junior players against the leagues which bring together 60 teams, including 18 within the QMJHL. Two of the hockey players had played in the Ontario and Western leagues, Daniel Carcillo and Garrett Taylor, while a third, Stephen Quirk, is a former QMJHL player. After the start of the proceedings, 16 other players produced affidavits to inform the Court of the abuse they had suffered.
If Gilles Courteau and Dan MacKenzie had to appear before a parliamentary committee before deputies who had given themselves a mandate of initiative, it was because of the indignation, disgust and horror aroused by a shocking article by Martin Leclerc. A little more than ten days ago, the Radio-Canada journalist reported on a decision by Ontario Superior Court judge Paul Perrell, in which the magistrate described torture, scabrous gestures and degrading mistreatment of recruits at the hands of older players during cruel initiations. Often with the knowledge of the coaches and managing directors of the teams. In some cases, these are violent acts of a sexual nature against minors since the usual age of a recruit is 16 or 17 years old. For technical reasons, the judge dismissed the class action request, indicating that he believed the plaintiffs and deemed the evidence presented to him admissible.
In an attempt to ” damage control which was not the most convincing, Gilles Courteau asserted that none of the “situations” described in the article involved a team from the QMJHL. However, he did not say a word about the former player in his league who is among the claimants. He asserted that these initiations of the past were today prohibited. Things are not like before, he argued in essence.
If the initiations are a thing of the past, the intimidation practiced by the oldest towards the youngest and the culture of silence still exist, as the expert report observes. Gilles Courteau gave parliamentarians a commitment to impose during the next season starting in September to end the omerta with a “cloakroom code”.
In Quebec, a position of officer for complaints brought by young athletes was created in 2020 by the Minister responsible for Sport, Isabelle Charest. But at the QMJHL, player complaints must first be forwarded to the league which, it is worth remembering, belongs to the owners of these semi-professional teams. One wonders if a 17 or 18 year old can have the courage to complain about a coach or an organization that holds the power of life or death over his hockey career.
In front of elected officials, the CEO of the Réseau du sport sportif du Québec (RSEQ), Gustave Roel, also underlined that the keystone when it comes to intimidation or violence, or even a culture of silence , in the leagues, it’s the coach.
As far as education is concerned, one wonders under what conditions QMJHL players can continue their studies when we know that the season has 68 games, not counting the playoffs.
The parliamentary committee, which lasted only one day, left many questions unanswered. The complaints officer, lawyers and sports psychologists, as well as representatives of other sports, could have appeared, as requested by opposition MPs. The CAQ government refused to make this initiative order anything more than a superficial exercise. That’s a shame. Minister Charest intends to table a bill on sports safety this spring. We hope that the consultations surrounding this bill will be an opportunity for her to recover.