(Ottawa) Federal Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge on Wednesday sharply criticized a survey distributed by Hockey Canada about allegations of sexual assault that have tainted the organization and which would have asked parents of players to indicate if they consider the level of media criticism to be exaggerated.
Posted at 12:33 p.m.
The issue was mentioned by Sportsnet after the network obtained a copy of the poll and reported a wave of outrage at the exercise being conducted by Hockey Canada.
“It seems completely inappropriate to me and it seems to me to be part of a public relations action,” said Minister St-Onge in a press scrum on her way to a Liberal caucus meeting.
In his opinion, Hockey Canada is doing the wrong thing to make necessary changes within its organization.
“I found that to be a question that was rather biased, that sought to blame all the turmoil that Hockey Canada is in on the media rather than their own handling of the crisis,” he said. – she said about an element of the poll that would have caused ire.
Contacted by The Canadian Press, the federation confirmed by email that it was surveying the parents of players and the players themselves, in addition to “fans and stakeholders as to the measures to be taken in order to make hockey a safe sport for everyone”.
Without providing a copy of the survey, Hockey Canada clarified that “respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed with various statements.”
The organization also wanted to give other examples of statements on which the respondents had to decide. “I lost faith in Hockey Canada” and “I question my child’s participation in hockey because of the allegations” are among them, according to the federation.
“Hockey Canada in no way sought to downplay the challenges facing the organization or the horrific allegations of sexual assault made against former National Junior Team members. We have been very clear about our desire to do better and are determined to make the necessary changes. »
The national sporting body has come under scrutiny since allegations of sexual assaults that were allegedly committed following a 2018 sports awards gala in London, Ont. These alleged assaults allegedly involved eight unidentified players, including members of that year’s World Junior Team. We also learned last May that Hockey Canada had reached an out-of-court settlement to cover up the case.
Group sexual assault allegations involving the 2003 World Junior Team also emerged last July.