The Canadian government has placed Hockey Canada under close surveillance.
Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge has ordered a financial audit of an out-of-court settlement involving a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by junior hockey players following a Hockey Canada event in London , Ontario.
A motion was also passed Thursday in Canada’s House of Commons summoning Hockey Canada to the Canadian Heritage standing committee “to shed light on its involvement in a case of alleged sexual assaults committed in 2018.”
According to the account first revealed by TSN, the woman accused eight Canadian Hockey League players, including members of the 2018 National Junior Team that won World Juniors gold that year, of sexual assault following a Hockey Canada Foundation gala in London, Ont., in June 2018.
She filed a $3.55 million lawsuit against Hockey Canada, the CHL and the unidentified players. The lawsuit was settled. The allegations against the players have never been proven in court.
Hockey Canada declined to comment on Friday’s forensic audit and committee call. A spokesperson referred The Canadian Press to a previous statement in response to the settlement:
“Hockey Canada is deeply troubled by the very serious sexual assault allegations involving members of the 2017-18 National Junior Hockey Team. As soon as Hockey Canada became aware of this case in 2018, we contacted local law enforcement authorities to inform them. On the same day, we also retained the services of Henein Hutchison LLP, a firm with extensive experience in this area, to undertake a thorough independent internal investigation and make recommendations on areas of improvement which we have implemented and which we will continue to follow.
“The person making the allegations chose not to speak to the police or Hockey Canada’s independent investigator and also chose not to identify the players involved. It was his right and we fully respect his wishes.
“We have settled this matter and, as part of this settlement, we will not comment further. »
But neither the Canadian government nor the NHL seem to want to close this file.
St-Onge said in a scrum with reporters before Question Period on Thursday in Ottawa that she wanted a forensic review of the settlement to make sure Hockey Canada didn’t use taxpayers’ money to settle the matter.
“What I want to know and what I think all Canadians want to know is were there public funds used to cover up this horrific gang rape story? asks St-Onge.
“The other thing Canadians want to know is how such a big sporting organization in Canada has ensured that the players who have these charges against them are not accountable for their actions and that there are several of them who are in the NHL today. And I think Canadians deserve to know,” she added.
Safe sport has taken center stage in St-Onge’s first eight months in the sports portfolio due to a recent spate of complaints about abuse and mistreatment in high performance sport.
The Minister revealed that she will hold organizations to account to clean up inappropriate and abusive behaviour.
Government assistance represents 6% of Hockey Canada’s funding, according to the organization’s 2020-2021 annual report, which does not specify the amount.
Hockey Canada received a total of $7.8 million in high performance funding from Own the Podium for its men’s and women’s national teams over the four-year quadrennial between the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and 2022.
Since the defendants could now be NHL players, that league is conducting its own investigation.
“The National Hockey League has been notified of a lawsuit regarding sexual allegations filed against eight unnamed members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior Hockey Team,” the NHL said in a statement.
“We then received the statement containing allegations of both heinous and reprehensible behavior.
“We will endeavor to determine the underlying facts and, to the extent that it may involve players who are now in the NHL, we will determine what actions, if any, would be appropriate. »