Editor’s Note: The following story deals with sexual assault, and may be distressing for some readers.
If you or someone you know is in need of support, those in Canada can find province-specific centres, crisis lines and services here. For readers in America, a list of resources and references for survivors and their loved ones can be found here.
Hockey Canada is reopening its investigation into 2018 sexual assault allegations involving members of the 2017-18 Canadian world junior team, the organization announced Thursday.
The organization will require all players on that roster to participate in the investigation, which will continue to be led by an independent third-party. Per Thursday’s announcement, players who do not cooperate will be banned from all Hockey Canada activities and programs.
“We have heard from Canadians, players, their families, fans, sponsors and those impacted by what occurred in 2018. We know you are angry and disappointed in Hockey Canada – rightfully so,” read the statement, titled An Open Letter to Canadians, released early Thursday. “We know we have not done enough to address the actions of some members of the 2018 National Junior Team, or to end the culture of toxic behaviour within our game.
“For that we unreservedly apologize.”
In the letter, Hockey Canada also laid out several immediate changes it is making in the wake of the allegations being made public in May. In addition to reopening the investigation and requiring full participation from all players, Hockey Canada has also pledged to require all players, coaches, staff members, and volunteers involved in high-performance programs to take part in mandatory sexual violence and consent training, and will conduct a “full governance review” of the organization by a third-party expert to “ensure our governance is geared to the requirements of a national organization of our scope and influence.”
Hockey Canada is also signing on with the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC), a new and specialized organization that will oversee all complaints, concerns, and allegations within Hockey Canada’s authority; and is creating a confidential and independent channel for individuals to step forward with complaints — including, as they indicate, “those historical in nature.” This channel will direct all complaints at the national programming level to OSIC.
Once complete, Hockey Canada’s reopened investigation will be seen by an independent adjudicative panel of current and former judges to determine appropriate consequences, which “may include a lifetime ban from Hockey Canada activity, on and off the ice.”
Hockey Canada also said they “acknowledge the courage of the young woman involved and respect her decision to participate with the investigation in the manner she chooses.”
In April, a woman filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and eight unnamed CHL players stating she was sexually assaulted in a London, Ont. hotel room following a Hockey Canada gala event in June 2018. The woman, who chose not to participate in investigations opened by London Police and Hockey Canada, wishes to remain anonymous and did not name the alleged perpetrators, who are referred to as John Does 1-8 in the official statement of claim. The lawsuit was settled in May. The case has not been heard in a court of law.
Hockey Canada’s handling of the allegations, as well as its finances, have been in the spotlight ever since, with the federal government conducting hearings and corporations freezing sponsorships for the upcoming world junior tournament.
In a statement released shortly after the allegations came to light, Hockey Canada said it reported the allegations to police and hired a third-party firm, Henein Hutchison LLP, to conduct an investigation.
Former Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney, who stepped down effective July 1 (a decision unrelated to the allegations, per Sportsnet sources), and president and COO Scott Smith told the federal Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage during an inquiry on June 20 that they did not know who the John Does were, and their third-party investigation was incomplete. They said players were “strongly encouraged” to participate in the third-party investigation, but that it was not mandatory, with just “12 or 13” players participating before the investigation was closed in September 2020.
Canada’s minister of sport, Pascale St-Onge, unsatisfied with the actions taken by Hockey Canada, announced shortly after the testimony that federal funding directed at the organization — about $7.8 million annually, accounting for six per cent of Hockey Canada’s budget — will be frozen until it signs on with OSIC as well as disclose the recommendations of improvement made by Heinen Hutchison and provide details of their plan to implement change.
Corporate sponsors, led by Scotiabank and including TELUS, Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons, Imperial Oil (Esso) and others, also paused sponsorship executions slated to run during the upcoming world juniors in August, demanding change from the organization.
Hockey Canada said Thursday that a more detailed action plan is on its way.
“What happened in London, Ontario in 2018 was completely unacceptable,” their statement continued, “and we once again apologize to Canadians, the young woman, and all those who have been impacted.”
