Hockey Canada must explain itself before the Canadian Heritage Standing Committee for resolving out of court an alleged sexual assault case allegedly committed against a girl by a group of eight juniors players, including several members of the 2018 edition of Junior Team Canada. Ottawa will also conduct a financial audit of this federation in connection with this matter reported by journalist Rick Westhead, of TSN.
The Bloc Québécois filed a motion on Thursday after an inquiry period stating to the Speaker of the House of Commons that there was unanimous permission from elected officials to call Hockey Canada before this committee, which he only had to prove.
excited through this story, the federal Minister of Sport, Pascale St-Onge, had earlier announced a financial audit on Hockey Canada.
The thing that all Canadians want to know, and I do, too, is: were public funds used to cover up this gang rape story? We will conduct a financial audit to make sure that is not the case.he said in a press scrum.
The young woman in this case, identified with the initials EM, was repeatedly allegedly assaulted in a hotel room in London, Ont., In June 2018 after hosting a Hockey Canada Foundation gala and presenting a golf tournament, TSN reported.
The maid’s lawyer, Robert Talach, confirmed that her client had reached a peaceful settlement in the context of a civil lawsuit satisfying her. The victim is asking for $ 3.5 million. The amount received is unknown.
Hockey Canada also confirmed that it is privately sealing the deal.
Organizations need to be held accountablesaid Pascale St-Onge in an interview with All one morningEarly in the morning.
The Minister of Sports wanted to know where the amount the victim received from Hockey Canada came from.
” My link to sports organizations is primarily financial through the public funds we provide for athletes to train. There are conditions when these organizations receive these public funds. And clearly, public funds cannot be used in this type of situation, to cover up such incidents. “
Pascale St-Onge relies on verification mechanisms to get answers.
All sports organizations in Canada regularly undergo audits, the Minister recalled. We can expect these audits, and every cent, every dollar should be justified.
Pascale St-Onge also wonders why Hockey Canada is involved in this issue.
Another thing Canadians want to know is how did an important sports organization in Canada ensure that players with such lawsuits against them are not held accountable for their actions and that some of them are in the NHL today? did he say.
There’s a fixed agreement, it’s a complex file, he added. The NHL said it would shed light on this story. So we’ll see what happens next and we keep following the file.
I was disgusted and discouraged
Pascale St-Onge reacted without a filter to this story, Wednesday night.
I was disgusted and discouraged to hear again a story of sexual assault coming out in the world of sports.he said in the email.
This is a complicated and worrying file. We will take the time to examine the facts and the role of the federationhe added.
Minister St-Onge announced that he learned of the existence of this peaceful agreement the day before the release of the TSN report. The president of Hockey Canada called him to let him know.
Neither Sport Canada, to my knowledge, nor I, certainly not, knew that such a file was being conducted at Hockey Canada, Ms. St-Onge. No one has been notified of such a case in court.
” This story once again shows that there is a culture of silence that reigns, and we must end this culture. The entourage of the athletes and the organization have responsibilities. “
The Federal Minister of Sports believes athletes should be more supervised.
Athletes should be educated on consent issues. We need to talk about sex education to understand what is appropriate and what is not.
Ever since I came to the office, this is what I have worked for, changing the culture of the sportend of Pascale St-Onge.
Radio-Canada Sports tried to contact Hockey Canada to get a reaction to Minister St-Onge’s statements. A federation communications manager then referred us to the statement released at the time this story was disclosed by TSN. We read that Hockey Canada thinks extremely disturbed by these serious allegations of sexual assault. Once he was informed of this story in 2018, he contacted the relevant law enforcement authorities.can we read too.
Source: Radio-Canada
