Hockey Canada has clarified the number of incidents of alleged abuse, harassment or discrimination it has reported to Sport Canada since 2018, after the testimony of Hockey Canada’s president before the Commons heritage committee in late July mentioned fewer reported incidents than the figure Sport Canada officials had given MPs the day before.
Sport Canada has also since told CBC News that another incident was reported by Hockey Canada the day after its officials appeared as witnesses, bringing the total number of incidents disclosed over the last four years to nine.
As a condition of their funding agreements with the federal government, national sport organizations like Hockey Canada have been required since 2018 to immediately disclose any incident of harassment, abuse or discrimination “that could compromise the project of programming.”
The incidents must also be reported to the proper authorities, which could include the police if a criminal investigation is warranted. Sport organizations are required to have formal policies in place to prevent harassment and abuse and address any cases that emerge, including providing access to an independent third party to investigate and make recommendations.
Sport Canada can’t investigate cases
During his testimony at committee on July 26, Michel Ruest, a senior director in charge of programs at Sport Canada, was asked by Bloc MP Andréanne Larouche for the exact number of incidents reported by Hockey Canada in each of the years since its funding agreement required these disclosures (2018-2022).
Ruest said there were eight cases reported to its confidential database.
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Ruest said the confidential details of the allegations contained in these reports had on certain occasions been communicated internally, but only the overall statistics were shared with the minister’s office, not specific details. Sport Canada does not have the mandated authority to conduct investigations into these cases, he told MPs, and the disclosures to the government include “minimal information” — in accordance with the Privacy Act, Ruest said names are not shared unless they are already in the public domain.
In response to a follow-up question by email from CBC News, Sport Canada broke down the reports in its database by year:
Two reports in 2018.
One in 2019.
Three in 2020.
One in 2021.
Two in 2022.
The year of a report to Sport Canada doesn’t necessarily line up with the year an alleged incident took place.
Based on Hockey Canada’s committee testimony, the first incident reported in 2022 was the alleged group sexual assault by members of Canada’s 2003 national junior hockey team that occurred in Halifax, N.S., and is now the subject of a police investigation. It only became known to the public — and, hockey officials said in their testimony, Hockey Canada itself — in a TSN report earlier this summer.
Officials said they had only heard “rumours” about it a couple weeks before TSN published the results of its investigation, but reported it to Sport Canada immediately once the media report was out.
Discrepancy in number of cases
When he first appeared before the committee on June 20, Hockey Canada president Scott Smith told the committee he was not prepared to speak about specific incidents. During his testimony before the committee on July 27, Smith was asked by New Democrat MP Peter Julian whether he was now prepared to speak about the specifics of ongoing investigations.
Hockey Canada president Scott Smith is seen above during parliamentary hearing in July. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
This time, Smith was prepared to confirm that one of the incidents reported to Hockey Canada in 2018 was the alleged group sexual assault of a young woman in London, Ont., by members of the 2018 national junior team. This incident also only became public because last spring, TSN reported on a cash settlement paid to the young woman by Hockey Canada.
Smith told the committee that in addition to the two investigations involving members of the national junior teams from 2003 and 2018, there were two other reports that do not relate to sexual misconduct, bringing the total number of reports to Sport Canada by Hockey Canada to four, he told MPs.
The other two reports, Smith said, date to 2018 and 2021 and are related to a family that alleges abusive behaviour because their son and daughter have been prevented from registering for youth hockey because of the conduct of the father in arenas.
CBC News asked Hockey Canada why Sport Canada’s testimony mentioned receiving eight incident reports from its organization, and yet the next day Smith told MPs there had been four reports made to Sport Canada.
Hockey Canada spokesperson Jeremy Knight replied that Smith believed that Julian’s question was about open investigations only, not the total number of reports.
“Mr. Smith’s response refers to four open investigations which, as required, were reported to Sport Canada. Not all reports to Sport Canada since 2018 have open investigations,” Knight said.
Knight’s response suggests that the investigations into the four incidents reported in 2019 and 2020 are now closed or concluded.
No details on the results of those investigations or even the nature of these incidents — including whether they involved alleged assault or abuse, harassment or discrimination — have been made public by either Hockey Canada or Sport Canada.
New incident reported day after testimony
The incident reported by Hockey Canada on July 28, the day following its testimony at committee, was “not a formal case,” a spokesperson for the minister of sport’s office told CBC News.
Ariane Joazard-Bélizaire said a person had contacted Hockey Canada “to request information about the process for reporting possible mistreatment of an athlete from the Northwest Territories.”
Hockey Canada advised this person to contact the police and gave the person information about the independent third-party mechanism in place for handling such cases, the minister’s spokesperson said.
The number of incidents reported to Sport Canada by hockey officials wasn’t the only confusing aspect of their July 27 testimony.
MPs also asked Hockey Canada officials exactly how much money had been paid to complainants of sexual abuse. The figure provided during the committee meeting — $8.9 million in total, from the organization’s national equity fund as well as insurance payments — did not, in fact, include the cash settlement paid to the complainant in the 2018 group assault involving junior team members.
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This omission was only revealed after the committee when journalists were questioning Smith in the hallway after his testimony. The president said an audited financial statement that includes the settlement to the young woman in the London, Ont., incident would not be completed until Hockey Canada’s annual meeting, so the total given to MPs did not include this most recent payout by the organization.
The exact amount paid to that young woman has not been confirmed, but her statement of claim was seeking $3.55 million and Smith told the committee that Hockey Canada’s board had endorsed “up to the maximum settlement number.”
“We didn’t know all of the details of the night [in question], but we did believe harm was caused,” Hockey Canada chief financial officer Brian Cairo told MPs.
LONGUEUIL, Que. – People in a part of Longueuil, Que., were being asked to stay indoors with their doors and windows closed on Thursday morning after a train derailed, spilling an unknown quantity of hydrogen peroxide.
Police from the city just east of Montreal said it didn’t appear anyone was hurt, although a CN rail official told a news conference that three employees had been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
The derailment happened at around 9 a.m. in the LeMoyne area, near the intersection of St-Louis and St-Georges streets. Mathieu Gaudreault, a spokesman for CN rail, said about eight cars derailed at the Southwark rail facility, including four that toppled over.
“As of this morning, the information we have is it’s hydrogen peroxide that was in the rail car and created the fumes we saw,” he said, adding that there was no risk of fire.
François Boucher, a spokesman for the Longueuil police department, said police were asking people in the area, including students at nearby schools, to stay indoors while experts ensure the air is safe to breathe.
“It is as a preventive measure that we encourage people to really avoid exposing themselves unnecessarily,” he told reporters near the scene.
Police and fire officials were on site, as well as CN railworkers, and a large security perimeter was erected.
Officers were asking people to avoid the sector, and the normally busy Highway 116 was closed in the area. The confinement notice includes everyone within 800 metres of the derailment, officials said, who added that it would be lifted once a team with expertise in dangerous materials has given the green light.
In addition to closing doors and windows, people in the area covered by the notice are asked to close heating, ventilation and air exchange systems, and to stay as far from windows as possible.
Gaudreault said it wasn’t yet clear what caused the derailment. The possibilities include a problem with the track, a problem with a manoeuvre, or a mechanical issue, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s Liberal party is promising to improve cellphone service and invest in major highways if the party is elected to govern on Nov. 26.
Party leader Zach Churchill says a Liberal government would spend $60 million on building 87 new cellphone towers, which would be in addition to the $66 million the previous Progressive Conservative government committed to similar projects last year.
As well, Churchill confirmed the Liberals want to improve the province’s controlled access highways by adding exits along Highway 104 across the top of the mainland, and building a bypass along Highway 101 near Digby.
Churchill says the Liberals would add $40 million to the province’s $500 million capital budget for highways.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the three major political parties were expected to spend much of today preparing for a televised debate that will be broadcast tonight at 6 p.m. local time.
Churchill will face off against Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston and NDP Leader Claudia Chender during a 90-minute debate that will be carried live on CBC TV and streamed online.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
TORONTO – A group of hotel service workers in Toronto is set to hold a rally today outside the Fairmont Royal York to demand salary increases as hotel costs in the city skyrocket during Taylor Swift’s concerts.
Unite Here Local 75, the union representing 8,000 hospitality workers in the Greater Toronto Area, says Royal York employees have not seen a salary increase since 2021, and have been negotiating a new contract with the hotel since 2022.
The rally comes as the megastar begins her series of six sold-out concerts in Toronto, with the last show scheduled for Nov. 23.
During show weekends, some hotel rooms and short-term rentals in Toronto are priced up to 10 times more than other weekends, with some advertised for as much as $2,000 per night.
The union says hotel workers who will be serving Swifties during her Toronto stops are bargaining for raises to keep up with the rising cost of living.
The union represents hospitality workers including food service employees, room attendants and bell persons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
