Warning: This story contains sexually graphic details that may be disturbing to readers
As calls mount for the leaders of Canada’s national hockey organization to resign over sexual misconduct scandals, federal Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge is calling for “change” within the organization.
St-Onge told CBC Radio’s The House that she was horrified by details of a video a man said he viewed of an alleged 2003 group sexual assault involving that year’s World Junior hockey players.
Asked whether news of the video and of other misconduct scandals that have come to light recently should lead to resignations among Hockey Canada’s leaders, St-Onge said the organization has lost “the trust of Canadians.”
“I’m as concerned as all Canadians,” she said. “Also my parliamentary colleagues … have asked for the board to resign and the directors to resign.
“I feel the same, that there needs to be change within the organization.”
LISTEN | Pascale St-Onge responds to ongoing Hockey Canada crisis:
CBC News: The House11:35Sport Minister responds to Hockey Canada crisis
Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge talks to guest host Ashley Burke about her reaction to the latest allegations of sexual assault by junior hockey players and the mounting calls for Hockey Canada’s leadership to resign.
“I’m using all the tools that I have … to create and impose that change at Hockey Canada. But at some point they need to also look at themselves … Are they the right people to to implement the change that Canadians are requesting? They need to take responsibility for what’s happening within their own organization and so far it hasn’t been enough.”
The comment is one of the strongest St-Onge has made about Hockey Canada’s leadership. She previously said more diversity was needed in top jobs at the hockey organization and on its board of directors.
WATCH | Disturbing details emerge:
Man speaks out about alleged sexual assault involving members of 2003 World Juniors hockey team
3 days ago
Duration 3:05
Warning: This story contains sexually graphic details that may be disturbing to readers Disturbing details have emerged about an alleged group sexual assault by some members of Canada’s 2003 World Juniors hockey team. A man who recently gave Halifax police the names of two players who may have been involved says he saw a recording nearly 20 years ago of the alleged incident.
‘Extremely disturbing and horrifying’
A man who said he viewed the video told CBC News he recently shared with police the names of two players he recognized from the footage who went on to careers in the NHL.
The man said the video showed the two players walking into a hotel room where about six other players were standing naked and masturbating around a heavily intoxicated woman while one person penetrated her.
“This is extremely disturbing and horrifying,” St-Onge said. “I think it’s quite clear that there are problems within this sport.”
WATCH | Investigation reopened in Quebec City:
Quebec City police reopening Gatineau Olympiques group sexual assault investigation
15 days ago
Duration 2:07
A case of alleged group sexual assault involving four players with the 2014 Gatineau Olympiques is the latest example of a police force re-examining an investigation amid the ongoing Hockey Canada scandal. This review is now the third group sexual assault allegation involving Canadian hockey players currently under investigation by police.
St-Onge said it’s a “huge problem for society” that players that are alleged to have committed assaults “have not been held accountable.”
Police are investigating three alleged group sexual assaults by former junior hockey players. The allegations span the period from 2003 to 2018.
All are alleged to involve a group of players degrading a lone, intoxicated woman. In two of the cases, police reopened investigations over the past month in response to public outrage over the lack of charges.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
‘Culture of silence’
Asked if these three cases might be only the tip of the iceberg, St-Onge said it’s hard to know.
“It does raise extremely preoccupying questions about what happens during those events, during the celebration after the tournament,” St-Onge said. “And how these players are educated about sexual violence, consent and all those topics that we’re talking [about] now in society.”
St-Onge said Hockey Canada “needs to acknowledge the depth of the problem.”
To date, only one member of Hockey Canada’s leadership — board chair Michael Brind’Amour — has stepped down ahead of schedule.
Marnie McBean says she was asked to sit on a Hockey Canada oversight committee — but the offer was withdrawn after she lobbied for leadership change. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
St-Onge said she can’t ask Hockey Canada’s leaders to resign because all sport organizations funded by the government are independent. But she said the organization needs to look closely at itself and take responsibility for what’s happening.
Since becoming the minister for sport more than eight months ago, St-Onge has been made aware of a significant number of allegations against at least eight different sports organizations, her office said.
The allegations include sexual violence, maltreatment and psychological abuse, St-Onge said. In some cases, she added, coaches have been accused of crossing the line and pushing athletes too far to be their best.
WATCH | Some $9 million paid in settlements:
Hockey Canada has paid 21 settlements for sexual misconduct since 1989
1 month ago
Duration 2:58
Hockey Canada officials revealed the organization has paid out nearly $9 million in settlements since 1989 to 21 people alleging sexual misconduct.
In April, St-Onge announced Canada would open the first Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner to oversee a complaint intake process, conduct preliminary investigations and maintain a database of sanctions imposed.
That new office started accepting incident reports on June 20.
But Sport Integrity Commissioner Sarah-Eve Pelletier told CBC News her office can only investigate incidents involving the national sport organizations that have signed on.
Lawyer and former artistic swimmer Sarah-Eve Pelletier opened shop as Canada’s first sport integrity commissioner in May. (Sarah-Eve Pelletier/LinkedIn)
Negotiations around getting more than 40 sports organizations to sign on to the commissioner’s office — over issues like insurance and legal responsibility — are underway, Pelletier said. So far, only four organizations have joined the effort: the Canada Games Council, Canada Sport for Life, Volleyball Canada and Weightlifting Canada.
That means the office has to turn away complaints involving other organizations.
“Right now, if people are not able to have their complaints addressed by us, it may not be a good use of time if they file a complaint,” Pelletier told CBC News. “Because it will unfortunately not be able to proceed any further at this stage.”
Hotline under fire
Some cases might be directed to Sport Canada, which has a sport helpline it launched in 2018.
That hotline recently came under fire over its handling of hockey complaints. CBC News reported this month that, until recent months, callers to that helpline who wanted to report bad experiences in hockey were referred either to a law firm or an insurance claims adjuster — both chosen by Hockey Canada.
The law firm — Henein Hutchinson — is a well-known criminal defence firm known for high-profile court cases, some involving the defence of individuals accused of sexual assault. St-Onge said that she’s heard from athletes who say that third-party organizations paid directly by sports organizations don’t feel “independent enough.”
Henein’s firm was retained by Hockey Canada to investigate allegations of a group sexual assault by members of the 2018 World Junior team in London, Ont.
Hockey Canada vowed to sign on to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner last month as part of its plan to address what it called “toxic behaviour” both on and off the ice. It has yet to do so.
St-Onge said sports organizations like Hockey Canada will be required to submit to the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner by April 2023. When asked why the office was opened before all sports organizations had signed on, St-Onge said the sport commissioner is independent and responsible for its operation.
“What we did as a government is provide in the last budget $16 million for them to have all the resources that they need to put in place this new system,” she said.
“We are creating something new in Canada that’s never existed before.”
Pelletier said her office is in its early days and is “working hard and fast” to start preventing and responding to reports of maltreatment and discrimination.
“There is simply no place for any form of abuse in sport,” said Pelletier. “We are going to work hard to effect our mandate and to be part of the change that the sport system needs at the moment.”
A House of Commons committee holding public hearings on Hockey Canada’s handling of sexual assault allegations is expected to resume next month when Parliament returns.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Victor Hedman as the team captain on Wednesday as training camp opened, making the big defenseman the successor to Steven Stamkos.
Hedman, who is going into his 16th season with Tampa Bay, was considered the obvious choice to get the “C” after the Lightning did not re-sign Stamkos and their longtime captain left to join Nashville.
“Victor is a cornerstone player that is extremely well respected by his teammates, coaches and peers across the NHL,” general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Over the past 15 seasons, he has been a world-class representative for our organization both on and off the ice. Victor embodies what it means to be a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and is more than ready for this exciting opportunity. We are looking forward to watching him flourish in his new role as we continue to work towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
The 33-year-old from Sweden was a key contributor in the Lightning hoisting the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21, including playoff MVP honors on the first of those championship runs. Hedman also took home the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2018 and finished in the top three in voting five other seasons.
Ryan McDonagh, who was reacquired early in the offseason in a trade with the Predators, and MVP finalist Nikita Kucherov will serve as alternate captains with the Lightning moving on to the post-Stamkos era.
TORONTO – While Toronto FC is looking to improve its position on the pitch, general manager Jason Hernandez is trying to do the same off it.
That has been easier said than done this season.
Sending winger Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty to CF Montreal for up to $1.3 million (all dollar figures in U.S. funds) in general allocation money before the secondary transfer window closed in early August helped set the stage for future moves.
But there have been plenty of obstacles, which Hernandez has been working to clear.
“We feel a lot more confident going into this upcoming off-season that we did the one prior,” said Hernandez. “There’s a level of what I would say booby-traps that were uncovered when I first got the (GM) role at the end of last summer.”
The club is paying off departed forwards Adam Diomande and Ayo Akinola as well as a $500,000 payment due in 2024 to Belgium’s Anderlecht for Jamaican international defender Kemar Lawrence. That payment was part of the transfer fee for Lawrence, who joined TFC from Anderlecht in May 2021 and was traded to Minnesota United in March 2022.
Diomande was waived while Akinola’s contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
“That comes to an end in ’25, which is nice,” said Hernandez. “We had to suffer from a salary cap perspective this season. But those things coming off, the Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty money coming in, we’re going to be in a position to make some good additions, which is positive.”
While MLS clubs are allowed one contract buyout per year, Toronto had already used its on former captain Michel Bradley, who retired after last season. Bradley had previously restructured his contract, deferring money.
TFC’s only other move during the summer transfer window was the signing of free-agent defender Henry Wingo. Hernandez said the club knew going into the window that it was likely limited to the one acquisition “unless other business happened”
“We knew we had this bucket of money and we knew we were going to go get Henry,” said Hernandez.
While the sale of the highly touted Marshall-Rutty opened up other possibilities, it came on the eve of the transfer window closing. And the team did not like what it saw in the free-agent market.
“A lot of the opportunities we were presented in the free agency space felt more like a short-term, Band-Aid decision versus what actually the club probably needs.”
Hernandez was not willing to take in players who came with a “club-friendly” salary cap charge in 2024 and a much bigger number in 2025.
Instead, Toronto promoted forward Charlie Sharp and wingback Nate Edwards to the first team from TFC 2 ahead of last Friday’s roster freeze.
MLS teams are operating on a salary budget of $5.47 million this season, which covers up to 20 players on the senior roster (clubs can elect to spread that number across 18 players). But the league has several mechanisms that allow those funds to go further, including using allocation money (both general and targeted) to buy down salaries.
Designated players only count $683,750 — the maximum salary charge — against the cap no matter their actual pay. Toronto’s Lorenzo Insigne is actually earning $15.4 million with fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi collecting $6.295 million and Canadian Richie Laryea $1.208 million.
Hernandez says Laryea’s contract can — and “very likely” will — be restructured so as to remove the designated player status.
There are benefits in going with just two designated players rather than three.
Teams that elect to go with two DPs can sign up to four players as part of the league’s “U22 Initiative.” The pluses of that structure include a reduced salary cap charge for the young players and up to an extra $2 million in general allocation money.
Hernandez says the club is currently pondering whether that is the way to go.
Captain Jonathan Osorio who is earning $836,370 this season, restructured his deal to allow the team to sign Laryea as a DP. In doing so, Osorio had his option year guaranteed so his contact runs through 2026.
Hernandez and coach John Herdman will have decisions to make come the end of the year.
The contracts of goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh ($94,200), defenders Kevin Long ($277,500), Shane O’Neill ($413,000) and Kobe Franklin ($100,520), midfielder Alonso Coello ($94,050) and Brandon Servania ($602,710), and forward Prince Owusu ($807,500) — all on the club’s senior roster — expire at the end of 2024 with club options to follow.
While there is more work to do, Hernandez believes TFC is on the right road.
Toronto, which finished last in the league at 4-20-10 in 2023, went into Wednesday’s game against visiting Columbus in a playoff position at eighth in the East at 11-15-3.
“By every metric, we are miles ahead of where we were at this point last year,” said Hernandez.
“That’s a low bar, so that’s not saying much,” he added.
But he believes TFC is “quite competitive” when it has all its players at its disposal.
“To get results in this final stretch, we’re going to need our prominent players to really show up and have big performances, and be supported by the rest of the cast.”
After Columbus, TFC plays at Colorado and Chicago and hosts the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami. The club also travels to Vancouver for the Canadian Championship final.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
Mackenzie Hughes might just be what the International team needs as this year’s Presidents Cup.
Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., is one of three Canadians on the squad competing in the match-play event at Royal Montreal Golf Club next week.
His putting skills, cool demeanour under pressure, pre-existing connections with teammates and clubhouse leadership could help the team — made up of non-American players outside Europe — end a nine-tournament losing skid to the United States at the biennial event.
“I’ve had this one circled on the calendar for a few years now,” said Hughes on joining fellow Canadians Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners as captain’s picks on the 12-player International team. “I pretty much knew that when it was announced the tournament would be in Canada and that Mike Weir was going to be the captain, you pretty much knew where that was going to go.
“To get that call from (Weir) is really special because he’s the guy that I looked up to, we all looked up to, as Canadian golfers.”
Pendrith and Conners are returning to the team after a disappointing 17 1/2 to 12 1/2 loss to the United States at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. in 2022.
Hughes was ranked 14th on the International team standings in 2022 and could have easily been included on that squad after Australia’s Cameron Smith and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann were ruled ineligible after jumping ship to the rival LIV Golf circuit.
However, captain Trevor Immelman of South Africa instead chose the lower ranked Christiaan Bezuidenhout (16th) of South Africa, Pendrith (18th), South Korea’s Kim Si-woo (20th) and Australia’s Cameron Davis (25th).
“I certainly wanted to be on that team but also I understood the picks,” said Hughes, who lives in Charlotte and plays at Quail Hollow regularly. “I think that like a lot of guys that don’t get picked you more so look back on your own play and I wish I had made that selection easier for them.
“I didn’t do myself any favours in the six weeks leading up to it and that’s a hard pill to swallow.”
It may have been a costly oversight on Immelman’s part, as finishing holes was an issue for the International team in 2022 and Hughes is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. This season he’s third in shots gained around the green and fifth in shots gained from putting.
“It doesn’t mean that just because I was there it would have turned the tide, but I’d like to think maybe I could have helped,” said Hughes. “That’s why you play the matches. You have to get out there and do it.”
This year Hughes made it easier for Weir, the Canadian golf legend from Brights Grove, Ont., to choose him. Hughes is 51st in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and has made the cut seven tournaments in a row, including a tie for fourth at last week’s Procore Championship.
“Mac played very solidly all year. Really like his short game, an all-around short game,” said Weir on Sept. 3 after announcing his captain’s picks. “He’s one of the elite and best short game guys on the PGA Tour
“I also love Mac’s grit. So that was the reason I picked him.”
Hughes’s intangible qualities go beyond grit.
He, Pendrith and Conners will arrive at Royal Montreal as a unit within the International squad, having become close friends while playing on Kent State University’s men’s golf team before turning pro. They’re also part of a group of Canadians, including Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., that regularly practice together before PGA Tour events.
“To have those guys with me is really icing on the cake, it’s very special,” said Hughes. “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often: to play this kind of team competition, which is already hard to do, but to play with some of your best friends, it almost seems scripted.”
An 11-year professional, Hughes has also been a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council the past two years and has been an outspoken advocate for making professional golf more accessible to fans.
Although Weir relied heavily on analytics to make his captain’s selections, Hughes’s character came up again and again when asked why he was named to the team.
“I just have a gut feeling with Mac that he has what it takes in these big moments,” said Weir. “They’re big pressure moments, and I have a feeling he’s going to do great in those moments.”
DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., continues his chase for a spot in the Europe-based DP World Tour’s playoffs. The top 50 players on the Race to Dubai standings make the DP World Tour Championship and Cockerill moved eight spots up to 39th in the rankings after tying for ninth at last week’s Irish Open. He’ll be back at it on Thursday at the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
KORN FERRY TOUR — Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., is ranked 38th on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour’s points list. He leads the Canadian contingent into this week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He’ll be joined at Ohio State University Golf Club — Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio by Edmonton’s Wil Bateman (53rd), Etienne Papineau (65th) of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., and Sudarshan Yellamaraju (99th) of Mississauga, Ont.
CHAMPIONS TOUR — Calgary’s Stephen Ames is the lone Canadian at this week’s Pure Insurance Championship. He’s No. 2 on the senior circuit’s points list. The event will start Friday and be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Monterey, Calif.
LPGA TOUR — There are four Canadians in this week’s Kroger City Championship. Savannah Grewal (97th in the Race to CME Globe Rankings) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (115th), and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (142nd) of Sherbrooke, Que., will all tee it up at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
EPSON TOUR — Vancouver’s Leah John is the low Canadian heading into the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. She’s 54th in the second-tier tour’s points list. She’ll be joined by Maddie Szeryk (118th) of London, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault (119th) of Rosemere, Que., at Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado, Ark.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
