Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge has once again blasted Hockey Canada for its “total lack of transparency” after the emergence of a second hidden fund which would have been used, among other things, for compensation for cases of sexual abuse.
• Read also: Sexual assault cases: Hockey Canada had another contingency fund
“I feel like I’m running out of vocabulary right now to express myself,” Ms.me St-Onge in a press scrum on Monday.
The Minister reiterated her call for the resignation and replacement of a new team at the head of the organization that oversees the whole
“Now I’m making it clear that it takes resignations,” she said. “I don’t think it’s possible to rebuild trust in Hockey Canada and in the organization with the same people who allowed this system to exist.”
According to her, the existence of a second secret fund “illustrates” that sexual abuse cases have been treated as “an insurance problem by Hockey Canada” rather than a “matter of fighting against nature itself. of the problem and to change the culture”.
Pascale St-Onge therefore calls for “more women” and more people “who do not come from hockey culture”, including a “mix of good people who know good governance practices”.
The news, revealed by the Globe & Mail Monday, fell on the eve of a new testimony of the leaders of Hockey Canada in parliamentary committee Tuesday.
For its part, the Bloc Québécois asked for the opening of an independent investigation, which had received the unanimous support of the House of Commons during the summer.
“Almost every week, we learn more about the toxic culture of managing sexual assault cases at Hockey Canada: two tens of millions of dollars dedicated to sexual assault settlements, multiple assault cases the more the scandals accumulate, the more they resemble each other,” declared Sébastien Lemire, Bloc spokesperson for Sports.
Mme St-Onge says he prefers to wait for the results of investigations already underway, including a financial audit and two investigations of local police forces into specific events. The National Hockey League (NHL) has also announced its intention to investigate.