Hockey Canada needs to be more transparent about its handling of an alleged sexual assault in London involving elite junior players, says a London-region MP who sits on a parliamentary committee looking into the matter.
The call from Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Karen Vecchio comes as the hockey organization faces another round of testimony on Wednesday before the Commons standing committee on Canadian heritage about its handling of the case and its out-of-court settlement with the complainant, and as the organization laid out steps on July 25 it says it will take to combat “toxic” behavior in the sport.
Vecchio, one of two Conservative MPs from Southwestern Ontario sitting on committee, criticized Hockey Canada officials for not being forthcoming during previous hearings.
“I think they thought they would come to committee and it was all going to be easy. They came not prepared, and that was the problem. They did not prepare themselves for this, so I don’t think they were taking it seriously,” she said.
“I think Hockey Canada has a lot more questions that they have to answer … I’m hoping that Hockey Canada comes with more answers than they did last time.”
Hockey Canada chief executive Scott Smith, who tested before the committee in June, will be back in Ottawa, along with predecessor Tom Renney and officials from three other Canadian hockey circuits, as MPs continue to grill the under-fire federation.
“I was able to ask them during those first committee meetings, ‘How often does this happen? How many of the young men participated in the interviews?’ They didn’t really have the answers,” Vecchio said.
“I’m still looking for those answers. And now that they’ve had six weeks, they should be able to give those answers very easily.”
Hockey Canada has been thrust under a harsh spotlight since allegations against eight players, including members of the gold medal-winning 2018 world junior team, were first made public in May after the complainant reached an out-of-court settlement in her $3.5-million lawsuit with Hockey Canada.
Last week, the organization said it was made aware of another alleged group sexual assault involving the 2003 world junior team and immediately contacted police in Halifax, the co-host of the tournament that year. Halifax regional police have since launched a criminal investigation.
Perth-Wellington MP John Nater, who also sits on the committee conducting the hearings into Hockey Canada, said he was contacted by an individual regarding the alleged sexual assault in Halifax.
Nater didn’t respond to an interview request on July 25.
London police Chief Steve Williams announced last week police have reopened a criminal investigation into the 2018 incident following an internal review of the file that previously was closed without charges after an eight-month probe.
In response to mounting public and political pressure, Hockey Canada released a plan to combat the “toxic” culture in its sport.
The plan includes the implementation by the end of September of a centralized tracking and reporting system for abuse complaints. It said the results will be published annually.
The organization will publish an annual social responsibility report that will include information on complaints received at both the national and subnational levels and a scorecard based on “key performance indicators.” Hockey Canada said it was in the process of identifying the measures to be included in the scorecard.
The Calgary-based organization did not specify what data on the complaints will be made public in the report, but historical allegations of sexual assault will not be included.
Hockey Canada also pledged to implement enhanced screening for high-performance players — “considering their behavior and track record outside of their time with Hockey Canada and outside of the rink.” It will mandate that breaching the organization’s code of conduct or refusing to participate in an investigation could result in a lifetime ban.
Just hours after Hockey Canada revealed its plan, players from Canada’s most recent women’s Olympic squad and world championship team posted an open letter to the organization’s executives and board of governors.
“We join all Canadians in demanding a thorough and transparent investigation of the incidents in question, as well as the structure, governance and environment that exists within (Hockey Canada),” the letter read.
“Once the whole truth is out, Hockey Canada and its elected board must ensure that all steps are taken and appropriate measures are put in place to ensure that this kind of behavior is never again accepted, and never repeated.”
In the London case, a 24-year-old woman, identified as EM, sued Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and eight unnamed players, now ages 23 and 24, alleging she was sexually assaulted in a room in a downtown hotel after meeting the players at a Richmond Row bar on June 18, 2018, according to a statement of claim.
The players were in London to attend a gala.
She alleviates the players bought her drinks at the bar, causing her to become intoxicated and separated from her friend before she went back to the hotel with one player and engaged in sexual acts, the lawsuit alleviates.
Seven other players were later invited into the room without the woman’s consent and proceeded to sexually assault her for several hours, the lawsuit contends.
Lawsuit statements of claim and statements of defense contain allegations not yet tested in court. None of the defendants filed statements of defence.
The lawsuit alleges Hockey Canada was negligent for ignoring the “institutionalized and systematic abuse within the organization” and “perpetrating a toxic environment that condones violent and sexual conduct, including sexual assault.”
No details of the settlement can be revealed because the lawsuit was settled before it went to trial.
Vecchio said she was glad to see London police reopen the case, but she is worried about the culture created by Hockey Canada that makes people afraid to speak up when wrongdoing happens
“I’m a woman who loves sports, but I also recognize the culture of what we’ve got here,” she said.
“We need to make sure that there’s appropriate training for everybody, and not only the training, but that if somebody does step out of line, if somebody does do something like what we’ve seen … there has to be some consequences and that’s something that we definitely have not seen.”
With files from the Canadian Press