Hockey Canada has dropped a non-disclosure agreement with the complainant of a high-profile alleged group sexual assault in 2018 involving eight hockey players including some members of the world junior team, CBC News has learned.
The complainant’s lawyer Rob Talach says Hockey Canada approached his client on July 22 and asked if she wanted to be released from the agreement that prohibited her from publicly disclosing information about the case.
“I give them credit to say that they thought it was only fair in the circumstances of how things were unrolling publicly,” Talach told CBC News in an interview.
The non-disclosure agreement (NDA) was officially withdrawn the day before Hockey Canada’s executives testified before a parliamentary committee on July 27 probing the organization’s handling of the alleged sexual assault case.
Hockey Canada’s president Scott Smith faced questions from MPs about the NDA during the committee. NDP MP Peter Julian called on him to release complainants from them if they want because it perpetuates a “culture of silence” when “victims are silenced.”
“If they wish to eliminate those, unless there is a legal reason not to that I’m aware of, I’m not sure why we wouldn’t,” said Scott when asked if he would withdraw the agreements. “Our priority is to support the victims.”
WATCH | Calls grow to ban NDAs in sexual assault and harassment cases:
Hockey Canada drops NDA with complainant in alleged sexual assault case
6 hours ago
Duration 2:43
Hockey Canada has dropped a non-disclosure agreement with the woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of players in 2018. Meanwhile, some lawyers and advocates are pushing for NDAs to be banned in some cases altogether.
Smith told the committee last month that Hockey Canada reached out proactively to Talach after “media reports were representing comments on behalf of players” and “suggested she should be given the right to respond to the events of the evening as well.” Hockey Canada shared Talach’s response privately with MPs, but did not disclose it publicly.
NDAs used in other settlements
During the committee it was revealed that non-disclosure agreements were also used in other settlements involving sexual assault allegations, according to Hockey Canada’s former VP of risk management Glen McCurdie.
On top of the 2018 case, Hockey Canada has paid $8.9 million to 21 complainants since 1989.
Rob Talach is the lawyer representing the complainant alleging a 2018 group sexual assault involving some members of Canada’s world junior team. (James Chaarani/CBC)
Hockey Canada clarified on Monday that non-disclosure agreements were not used in every single settlement.
“In some cases, the only confidentiality terms concerned the amount of the settlement, which is commonly included in almost every settlement of every claim in Canada, including sexual abuse claims…,” wrote Hockey Canada in a statement to CBC News.
The Hockey Canada controversy has put a new spotlight on the issue of NDAs, which are common in settling lawsuits. There are mounting calls by some advocates to ban them in cases related to sexual assault.
P.E.I became the first province in May to limit the use of the agreements in cases to stop silencing victims of harassment and sexual misconduct. Some legal experts and legislators argue NDAs protect institutions and perpetrators and drive allegations underground allowing the culture problems to continue.
Hockey Canada is in the midst of a crisis as it deals with public outrage over its handling of sexual assault claims and use of a special fund — in part made up of registration fees — to pay for legal settlements. Sponsors have dropped support, the NHL is investigating and police have opened a new investigation into a separate 2003 group sexual assault case.
The public controversy started after Talach’s client’s filed $3.5-million lawsuit in April that said in 2018, eight hockey players including members of Canada’s world junior team sexually assaulted, humiliated and degraded her at a hotel room in London, Ont.
The statement of claim, which has not been proven in court, said the hockey players brought golf clubs to the hotel room to further intimidate her, directed the woman to shower after the sexual assault and told her to say she was sober while they videotaped a consent video.
Complainant feared adding to ‘public spectacle’
Hockey Canada’s board of directors authorized the maximum amount of the $3.5-million lawsuit to be paid out, according to testimony at the parliamentary committee.
Talach revealed new details to CBC News on Monday about his client’s non-disclosure agreement. He said the agreement contained a “communication plan” that gave his client some “flexibility to say what she wanted to say.” The agreement allowed Talach to make a written statement consistent with her wishes.
“She didn’t really want to be part of the media and she doesn’t want to add to this debate publicly,” Talach told CBC News.
Glen McCurdie, a Hockey Canada vice-president, says the organization is investigating its level of risk for possible lawsuits that could be filed by alleged victims. (The Canadian Press)
He said the non-disclosure agreement was mutually sought because his client from the beginning was “adamant” that she didn’t want to “add to a public spectacle.” He said his client also chose not to name the hockey players involved in her lawsuit.
Talach said there is no legal non-disclosure agreements that would prevent a complainant from reporting sexual offences to police.
“You can’t buy your way out of a criminal investigation,” he said. “Nor can a NDA prevent discussing the incident when seeking medical, counselling or financial advice. Those are typical exceptions.”
No other requests to be released
The complainant at the centre of the case spoke out publicly for the first time last week to the Globe and Mail and said she felt “vulnerable and exposed” since May when her allegations went public.
The woman wanted to set the record straight about information that continued to be reported in the media about her case that was inaccurate, said Talach.
CBC News asked Hockey Canada if any complainants have come forward and asked for their non-disclosure agreement to be withdrawn since executives testified last month.
Hockey Canada said since July 27, “no complainant who received settlements have asked to be released from any confidentiality terms in their settlement agreements.”
“As previously noted, if requested Hockey Canada would work with victims to support their wishes,” said Hockey Canada in a statement.
Have a story or news tip about the Hockey Canada scandal? Confidentially email ashley.burke@cbc.ca
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
