Gang rape by youth players: Hockey Canada summoned to parliamentary committee

The Bloc Québécois tabled a motion Thursday after question period indicating to the Speaker of the House of Commons that there was unanimous consent from elected officials to call Hockey Canada before this committee, which it only had to certify.

Shocked According to this story, Federal Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge had earlier in the day announced a financial audit of Hockey Canada.

What every Canadian wants to know, and so do I, is: were public funds used to cover up this gang rape story? We’re going to do a financial audit to make sure that’s not the case.he said at a press scrum.

The young woman in this case, identified by the initials EM, was allegedly repeatedly assaulted in a hotel room in London, Ontario, in June 2018 after hosting a Hockey Canada Foundation gala and golf tournament presentation, reported TSN.

The young woman’s lawyer, Robert Talach, confirmed that his client had reached an amicable agreement within the framework of a civil lawsuit that satisfies her. The victim was asking for $3.5 million. The amount received is unknown.

Hockey Canada also confirms that it closed the deal privately.

Organizations must be held accountablesaid Pascale St-Onge in an interview with all one morningEarlier in the day.

The Sports Minister wants to know where the amount the victim received from Hockey Canada came from.

” My link with sports organizations is mainly economic through the public funds that we give so that athletes can train. There are conditions when these organizations receive these public funds. And clearly, public funds cannot be used in these kinds of situations, to cover up such events. »

Pascale St-Onge will rely on verification mechanisms to get answers.

All Canadian sports organizations undergo regular audits, the Minister recalled. We can anticipate these audits, and every penny, every dollar must be accounted for.

Pascale St-Onge also wonders why Hockey Canada got involved in this matter.

The other thing Canadians want to know is how such a major sports organization in Canada has ensured that the players who have these charges against them are not held accountable for their actions and that there are several among them who are in the NHL today. she said

There is a closed agreement, it is a complex file, he added. The NHL said it was going to shed light on this story. So we’ll see what happens next and continue following the file.

I am upset and discouraged

Pascale St-Onge had already reacted without a filter to this story, on Wednesday night.

I am upset and disheartened to hear that, once again, there is a story of sexual assault in the sports world.said by email.

This is a complex and worrying file. We will take the time to analyze the facts and the role played by the federationshe added.

Minister St-Onge revealed that she learned of the friendly agreement the day before the publication of the TSN report. It was the president of Hockey Canada who called her to let her know.

Neither Sport Canada, to my knowledge, nor I certainly knew that file was ongoing at Hockey Canada, Ms. St-Onge stated. No one had been notified that a case like this was before the courts.

” This story shows again that there is a culture of silence that reigns, and we must end this culture. The environment of the athletes and the organization have responsibilities. »

The Federal Sports Minister believes that athletes should be better supervised.

Athletes must be educated in matters of consent. We need to talk about sex education to understand what is appropriate and what is not.

Since I came to the position, this is what I have been working on, changing the culture of the sport.concluded Pascale St-Onge.

Radio-Canada Sports has attempted to contact Hockey Canada for a reaction to Minister St-Onge’s comments. We were then referred to the statement published at the time TSN broke this story by a federation communications manager. We read that Hockey Canada thinks deeply concerned about these serious allegations of sexual assault. As soon as he learned of this story in 2018, he contacted the relevant law enforcement authorities.we can also read.