TOXIC WHITE MASCULINITY
Committee study on abuse in sport will look to expand beyond just hockey, MPs say


OTTAWA — The House of Commons committee investigating abuse in sport will reconvene next week to hash out how to expand its probe beyond Hockey Canada.



MPs on the committee say their inquiries must find a way to hold all sports organizations, coaches and athletes accountable for inappropriate and abusive behaviour.

Liberal MP Chris Bittle, one of 12 regular members on the Canadian Heritage committee, said the departure of Hockey Canada's president and board of directors Tuesday was necessary, but that alone "is not a substitute for culture change."

The committee launched its investigation into Hockey Canada in June, after it came to light that the organization settled a lawsuit with a woman who alleged eight members of the 2018 national junior team sexually assaulted her after a Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont.

Bittle said there needs to be a focus now on how to fix what ails not only Hockey Canada, but the deep cultural issues across many sports that have prompted a look-the-other-way attitude when medals and glory are on the line.

"We can look at whether there are organizations that are putting athletes on such pedestals that there are no consequences for their actions, including this case that has led to our inquiry where there didn't seem to be any consequences," Bittle said in an interview.

Hockey Canada officials told the committee in June they learned about the alleged assault the day after the London gala, but an internal investigation was not able to identify the players involved and no disciplinary action was taken.

"Why wasn't there a look to say, 'There's certain people who shouldn't be wearing the Maple Leaf on their chest representing Canada moving forward'?" Bittle asked. "If there's no consequences for coaches and athletes in terms of their conduct, it's going to be worse."

NDP MP Peter Julian said the leadership overhaul at Hockey Canada does not change the "fundamental issues around how Hockey Canada treats these horrific allegations of sexual violence, treats sexual abuse, treats victims."

Getting to the bottom of that should be a priority for the committee, but Julian said those questions need to be asked of many more sporting organizations.

"It's not just Hockey Canada that is not taking seriously the issues of protecting athletes and protecting the public," he said. "So there is a lot of work for our committee still to do."

The committee normally meets on Tuesdays and Fridays when the House of Commons is sitting and Julian said he expects the first meeting next week will be spent discussing where the inquiry now needs to go and which witnesses are still to be called.

"I think it's fair to say all members of the committee understand that this is beyond hockey, that this is a crisis in national sports organizations," said Julian. "And I expect that we will continue the hearings and broaden that mandate on that basis."

Allegations of psychological, physical and sexual abuse have arisen in multiple sports in Canada in recent years including rowing, boxing, rugby, skiing and soccer.

Hundreds of athletes in gymnastics and bobsled signed open letters in March calling for independent investigations of abuse and toxic environments. Both letters suggest athletes were afraid to speak up earlier for fear of being punished and left off national and Olympic teams.

In 2018, a lawsuit was filed against Alpine Canada by former skiers who said the organization covered up sexual abuse at the hands of a coach in part to prevent a loss of sponsorships.

Julian said the issue is not just that sporting organizations have been allowing toxic environments, but also that the federal government hasn't done anything to stop it.

"The federal government has let national sports organizations run themselves with no oversight, with no obligations, and that has to fundamentally change," said Julian.

That is starting to change. Sport Minister Pascale St.-Onge suspended federal funding for both Hockey Canada and Gymnastics Canada earlier this year when the abuse allegations arose.

She is overhauling the contribution agreements so that sports bodies have to show accountability, transparency and a commitment to safe sport in order to receive federal money.

To get funding next year, all sporting organizations are required to sign on with the new sporting integrity commissioner, who was hired in June to implement a "Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport."

As of now, only two national federations have signed on: Volleyball Canada and Weightlifting Canada.

In its first three months of operation, the integrity commissioner's office received 24 formal complaints, but two-thirds were related to people in sporting organizations that haven't yet signed on to the process.

Only six of the complaints were considered admissible under the commissioner's jurisdiction.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2022.

Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

Hockey culture suffers from a 'systemic problem' of sexual violence, minister says

Ashley Burke - Sept 29

Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge says there's a "systemic problem" of sexual violence and toxic masculinity in Canada's hockey culture that Hockey Canada has failed to change.

Her comment was a response to a Fifth Estate investigation that identified at least 15 group sexual assault cases involving junior hockey players investigated by police since 1989 — half of which surfaced in the past decade.

At least 50 players have been accused in the alleged crimes. Half were charged and only one was convicted after taking a plea to a lesser offence, the Fifth Estate found.

"We're talking about a systemic issue," St.-Onge told CBC News on Thursday. "The stories that we're reading about are deeply disturbing and sickening, quite frankly."

"We've heard these stories before. It's not the first time we talked about the toxic culture in hockey. But nothing has been done, or not enough has been done in the past 10 years. It's a terrible legacy we want to see change."

St-Onge sharpened her condemnation of Hockey Canada on Thursday, arguing the organization doesn't have the luxury of years to change its culture. She said this toxic culture in the sport has been "normalized for too long."

"A lot of players have become men who have never taken responsibility for their actions and what happened," she said. "But it's also about the people in management and in leadership roles that have also failed all those years.

"So far, I don't think what's been done is enough, for sure."

Hockey Canada continues to face calls for a change to its leadership; one of those calls came from St-Onge. The hockey organization has been under intense public scrutiny since May, after a woman filed a $3.5-million lawsuit alleging eight hockey players — some of them members of the 2018 World Junior hockey team — sexually assaulted her.

Hockey parents were outraged to learn that Hockey Canada used a fund made up in part of their registration fees to pay for a settlement in that case and others.

St-Onge suspended Hockey Canada's funding in June — the strongest sanction at her disposal, she said. A series of major sponsors followed suit and pulled their financial support for the hockey organization.

There are a number of conditions Hockey Canada must meet before federal funding can resume. But St-Onge didn't close the door on further conditions after the completion of a financial audit and a series of ongoing investigations.

'There needs to be change in leadership in Hockey Canada,' says sports minister

"I'm giving myself all the flexibility to decide when the federal funding will be reintroduced," she said.

Hockey Canada is facing a "real sustainability problem," said St-Onge, as parents wonder if they should sign up their children for hockey and provincial federations threaten to withhold their dues.

"It can't take two, three, four, five years to change the culture," she said. "There needs to be a 180-degree shift in hockey culture and it needs to happen now."

Hockey Canada says it's taking action

In a statement, Hockey Canada said that "while culture change cannot happen overnight," it is "taking immediate action to eliminate inappropriate action in and around our game."

The hockey organization said it has made progress on its plan to address "toxic" culture by launching a third-party complaint mechanism, rolling out mandatory training for national teams and working on updating its policies.

"We are committed to making the changes necessary to improve the culture of Canada's game, including by taking a leadership role in prioritizing safe sport in Canada," said Hockey Canada in a statement to CBC News on Thursday.

The hockey organization is encouraging anyone who feels they were a victim of maltreatment, sexual violence or any other kind of abuse to come forward and report it.

Hockey Canada said it's also "important to note" it commissioned a former Supreme Court justice to conduct a third-party governance review.



Hockey Canada president and chief operating officer Scott Smith told a Commons committee on July 27 that his organization's goal is to

© Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

House of Commons committee resumes next month

The only member of Hockey Canada's leadership who publicly resigned during the controversy, Michael Brind'Armour, is scheduled to testify at a House of Commons committee on Oct. 4.

Brind'Amour is the former chair of Hockey Canada's board of directors. He stepped down in early August, saying "there is no need to wait for a new era."

The Commons committee has expanded its review into how Hockey Canada handles cases of sexual assault allegations to include other sports.

Andrea Skinner, the Hockey Canada board's new interim chair, is also being called to testify next month. She was first elected to the board in November 2020, used to serve as a member of the risk management committee and was chair of the human resources committee.

The committee has asked Hockey Canada's board of directors to submit any notes it took during in-camera sessions when it discussed the 2018 group sexual assault case and settlement.

You can watch the Fifth Estate's documentary Anatomy of a Scandal Thursday at 9 p.m. (9:30 p.m. in Newfoundland) on CBC-TV or stream it on CBC Gem.