The government has no immediate plans to reinstate public funding for Hockey Canada, even though the organization announced on Thursday the reopening of the investigation into the gang rape case that placed it under the hot seat . The Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge nevertheless speaks of “a step in the right direction”.
“The boots now have to follow the chops,” Minister St-Onge dropped after a press conference in the Quartier des Spectacles for an announcement concerning the cultural community.
She took the opportunity to reiterate that the government was not going to start funding Hockey Canada again until the organization joined the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, which would then have the mandate to study possible complaints. No application for membership has been sent for the time being, lamented the minister.
Recall that the Trudeau government suspended its funding at the end of June, dissatisfied with the answers given by high-ranking Hockey Canada officials to justify an amicable agreement signed with the victim of an alleged gang rape which dated back to 2018. Several sponsors had also distanced themselves from Hockey Canada at the same time. The events allegedly took place in a hotel room in London, Ont., and involved eight players, some of whom were on the gold medal-winning Junior Team Canada at the time. The victim, whose identity has not been revealed, demanded $3.5 million in compensation.
In the process, Hockey Canada commissioned an independent report. Minister St-Onge demands that the recommendations contained in this first report be made public and that a plan be then tabled to implement them, failing which the organization will not be able to receive grants again.
Reopening of the investigation
In an open letter published Thursday, Hockey Canada instead announced the reopening of this independent investigation into the London story. The same Toronto law firm as the first time was mandated to do the investigation. This time, the players concerned will be summoned to participate, whereas they were only encouraged to do so four years ago.
“We know that our response has been insufficient in relation to the actions of certain members of the 2018 National Junior Team, or even to put an end to the culture of toxic behavior within our sport”, apologizes Hockey Canada in this open letter from three pages.
The organization also indicates that the victim had refused to name his alleged attackers at the time. Nor would she have wanted to file a complaint with the London police. Hockey Canada nevertheless undertakes this time to transmit the file at the end of the process to an “independent arbitration tribunal made up of current and former judges, who will determine the appropriate consequences”. The consequences for players at fault could go as far as life exclusion from Hockey Canada activities, it is added.
“As long as we are not satisfied with the concrete actions of Hockey Canada, we will maintain our decision,” warned Pascale St-Onge on Thursday. At a press conference, the minister also insisted on the importance of educating young hockey players about consent.
With The Canadian Press