Speaking to parliament on Tuesday, Trinto said Canadians have resisted sexual harassment and harassment in the workplace and that Hockey Canada will not receive much favor. “Canada is no different for hockey,” Trinto said. “We want to get to the bottom of it and all the options are being considered to determine the next steps.” On Monday, Hockey Canada officials filed a lawsuit against a young woman, filed in April, alleging that she was sexually assaulted by eight hockey players in a hotel room in London, Ontario after an Hockey Canada Foundation event in June 2018. Among the most significant revelations from both Canadian Hockey President Scott Smith and the testimony of outgoing CEO Tom Reney were:
Hockey Canada does not know the identities of the eight John Doe defendants mentioned in the statement of claim, although it has settled the lawsuit on behalf of these defendants, Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League.
The players of the 2018 U20 youth team, identified in the suit, were invited to take part in a survey conducted by a third company, but were not asked to do so.
Hockey Canada has faced one to two sexual assault complaints a year for the past five to six years.
At the time of the alleged 2018 incident, the Canada Hockey Code of Conduct did not include off-ice behavior, an issue that officials said they would seek to correct forward. Reney also acknowledged that player oversight was inadequate and that the organization had “failed”.
The woman who filed the lawsuit has not spoken publicly and Hockey Canada declined to say if there was a non-disclosure agreement included as part of the settlement agreed last month. However, Sports Secretary Pascale St-Onge said Renney told her the NDA was indeed included. Hockey Canada, which receives state funding, said no government money or insurance premiums were used to resolve the case. Smith said the investments were liquidated to raise funds. Many lawmakers questioning Canadian hockey officials called for more transparency and stressed the need for it. The Commission has the power to call additional witnesses, although it is not immediately clear whether it intends to do so. On Tuesday, St-Onge said it was “unhappy” with what it heard from Hockey Canada and insisted the organization would be “accountable,” according to Amanda Connolly, a senior political reporter at Global News. (Photo: AP / Marcio Jose Sanchez)
