The Minister of Sport said on Tuesday that Sport Canada can do better.
An NDP MP says the federal bureaucracy ‘failed to protect victims.’
By Kieran Leavitt
By Kieran Leavitt
Edmonton Bureau
Tue., July 26,2022
The federal agency in charge of Canadian sports policies knew about the sexual assault allegations involving members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team back but didn’t tell the minister at the time, a parliamentary committee was told on Tuesday.
Michel Ruest, a senior director at Sport Canada, told MPs on the Canadian Heritage standing committee that his organization was made aware of the allegations, connected to a Hockey Canada event in 2018, but did not follow up with the national governing body or tell the minister’s office.
Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge told MPs later in the day that “procedures absolutely need to be improved so that there can be better monitoring of the cases that are signalled to Sport Canada,” a branch of the federal Department of Canadian Heritage.
The testimony on Tuesday marks the first of two days of hearings being held in the wake of a scandal that has rocked the world of hockey. Hockey Canada’s top officials are to testify before the same all-party committee of MPs on Wednesday.
Members of Canada’s world junior hockey team from 2018 are facing allegations of a group sexual assault and a criminal investigation reopened by police in London, Ont. Meanwhile, reports emerged last week of separate allegations about another group sexual assault involving members of the 2003 world junior team. Halifax police have said they opened an investigation into that incident as well.
MPs on the heritage committee questioned officials from Sport Canada and Sport Minister Pascale StOnge allegations of sexual assault against members of the 2018 world junior team. Speaking via translator, St-Onge said she hopes Hockey Canada's leadership team will ask itself whether they are the right people to make cultural change.
Ruest, the senior official from Sport Canada, said that he was notified of the 2018 allegations on June 26 of that year.
“At that time, we did the verifications to find out whether competent authorities had been informed and whether a third party had been made available to the alleged victim,” he said in French through a translator. “Hockey Canada had provided that information, and so that was what we did.”
St-Onge became the minister years after the allegations came into the department.
Peter Julian, an NDP MP on the committee, said that while “it’s true that Hockey Canada failed” it’s “also true that Sport Canada failed to protect victims.
“Sport Canada should have taken action years ago,” he said.
At issue for the minister was funding. Hockey Canada receives cash from the federal government and saw that money suspended in the wake of revelations that they’d settled a lawsuit with a complainant in the 2018 incident. The organization also saw corporate sponsors flee amid the fallout from those reports.
St-Onge said that the organization must show signs it is changing its culture before she restores funding to it. Hockey Canada has announced some steps in the wake of the scandal, including a new complaint process.
“I had to make them understand that they had passed the point of no return,” St-Onge said in French.
Julien asked if the minister had made some inquiries about putting Hockey Canada into a trusteeship and she said she hadn’t done so yet. St-Onge said in French that she would use any tools at her disposal “to change the culture at Hockey Canada.”
Prior to testimony from government officials, the committee heard from lawyer Danielle Robitaille with Henein Hutchison LLP. She carried out an investigation ordered by Hockey Canada back in 2018 into the allegations. Ultimately, Robitaille said, she only spoke with 10 out of the 19 players who were at the London event because she wasn’t able to get the complainant’s version of events; she said she felt it was necessary to have that before interviewing the remaining nine players.
She also said that some of those remaining players now believe the case has been prejudged.
Robitaille told the committee that she was not able to answer some of the MPs’ questions because since the complainant has come forward with their version of events, the investigation continues, and she’s prohibited from speaking on some information due to attorney client privilege.
“I am laser focused on my conduct investigation,” Robitaille told MPs on Tuesday.
The standing committee heard testimony from top Hockey Canada executives in June, but since then more details have emerged regarding how money is used by the organization to settle sexual assault claims, and the Halifax allegations that have emerged.
On Wednesday, executives at Hockey Canada will testify once again, including president Scott Smith, chief financial officer Brian Cairo, chair of the Hockey Canada Foundation Dave Andrews, and retired CEO Tom Renney.
On Monday, Hockey Canada released a plan to address abuse in the sport and “shatter the code of silence and eliminate toxic behaviour in and around Canada’s game,” a news release said.
Former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy, an abuse survivor as well as a member of the world junior team in 1988 and 1989, responded on Tuesday to Hockey Canada’s stated plans by calling for Smith and the board of directors to resign, stating on Twitter, “The same people with a new plan expecting different results is the definition of insanity.”
With files from The Canadian Press
Kieran Leavitt is an Edmonton-based political reporter for the Toronto Star. Follow him on Twitter: @kieranleavitt
Tue., July 26,2022
The federal agency in charge of Canadian sports policies knew about the sexual assault allegations involving members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team back but didn’t tell the minister at the time, a parliamentary committee was told on Tuesday.
Michel Ruest, a senior director at Sport Canada, told MPs on the Canadian Heritage standing committee that his organization was made aware of the allegations, connected to a Hockey Canada event in 2018, but did not follow up with the national governing body or tell the minister’s office.
Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge told MPs later in the day that “procedures absolutely need to be improved so that there can be better monitoring of the cases that are signalled to Sport Canada,” a branch of the federal Department of Canadian Heritage.
The testimony on Tuesday marks the first of two days of hearings being held in the wake of a scandal that has rocked the world of hockey. Hockey Canada’s top officials are to testify before the same all-party committee of MPs on Wednesday.
Members of Canada’s world junior hockey team from 2018 are facing allegations of a group sexual assault and a criminal investigation reopened by police in London, Ont. Meanwhile, reports emerged last week of separate allegations about another group sexual assault involving members of the 2003 world junior team. Halifax police have said they opened an investigation into that incident as well.
MPs on the heritage committee questioned officials from Sport Canada and Sport Minister Pascale StOnge allegations of sexual assault against members of the 2018 world junior team. Speaking via translator, St-Onge said she hopes Hockey Canada's leadership team will ask itself whether they are the right people to make cultural change.
Ruest, the senior official from Sport Canada, said that he was notified of the 2018 allegations on June 26 of that year.
“At that time, we did the verifications to find out whether competent authorities had been informed and whether a third party had been made available to the alleged victim,” he said in French through a translator. “Hockey Canada had provided that information, and so that was what we did.”
St-Onge became the minister years after the allegations came into the department.
Peter Julian, an NDP MP on the committee, said that while “it’s true that Hockey Canada failed” it’s “also true that Sport Canada failed to protect victims.
“Sport Canada should have taken action years ago,” he said.
At issue for the minister was funding. Hockey Canada receives cash from the federal government and saw that money suspended in the wake of revelations that they’d settled a lawsuit with a complainant in the 2018 incident. The organization also saw corporate sponsors flee amid the fallout from those reports.
St-Onge said that the organization must show signs it is changing its culture before she restores funding to it. Hockey Canada has announced some steps in the wake of the scandal, including a new complaint process.
“I had to make them understand that they had passed the point of no return,” St-Onge said in French.
Julien asked if the minister had made some inquiries about putting Hockey Canada into a trusteeship and she said she hadn’t done so yet. St-Onge said in French that she would use any tools at her disposal “to change the culture at Hockey Canada.”
Prior to testimony from government officials, the committee heard from lawyer Danielle Robitaille with Henein Hutchison LLP. She carried out an investigation ordered by Hockey Canada back in 2018 into the allegations. Ultimately, Robitaille said, she only spoke with 10 out of the 19 players who were at the London event because she wasn’t able to get the complainant’s version of events; she said she felt it was necessary to have that before interviewing the remaining nine players.
She also said that some of those remaining players now believe the case has been prejudged.
Robitaille told the committee that she was not able to answer some of the MPs’ questions because since the complainant has come forward with their version of events, the investigation continues, and she’s prohibited from speaking on some information due to attorney client privilege.
“I am laser focused on my conduct investigation,” Robitaille told MPs on Tuesday.
The standing committee heard testimony from top Hockey Canada executives in June, but since then more details have emerged regarding how money is used by the organization to settle sexual assault claims, and the Halifax allegations that have emerged.
On Wednesday, executives at Hockey Canada will testify once again, including president Scott Smith, chief financial officer Brian Cairo, chair of the Hockey Canada Foundation Dave Andrews, and retired CEO Tom Renney.
On Monday, Hockey Canada released a plan to address abuse in the sport and “shatter the code of silence and eliminate toxic behaviour in and around Canada’s game,” a news release said.
Former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy, an abuse survivor as well as a member of the world junior team in 1988 and 1989, responded on Tuesday to Hockey Canada’s stated plans by calling for Smith and the board of directors to resign, stating on Twitter, “The same people with a new plan expecting different results is the definition of insanity.”
With files from The Canadian Press
Kieran Leavitt is an Edmonton-based political reporter for the Toronto Star. Follow him on Twitter: @kieranleavitt
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