Witnesses Michel Ruest, Senior Director, Programs, Sport Canada Branch of Canadian Heritage, and Isabelle Mondou, Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage, appear at the standing committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa on July 26.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Ottawa was told by Hockey Canada in 2018 about sexual-assault allegations involving members of that year’s Canadian world junior team but didn’t follow up with the organization about the complaint for four years, according to federal officials.
Until this past spring, Sport Canada had thought a police investigation into the alleged assault in London, Ont., was continuing, according to Isabelle Mondou, deputy minister for the Department of Canadian Heritage, which oversees Sport Canada. She said it wasn’t until May – when Hockey Canada reached out to inform Sport Canada that the allegations were about to become public – that the government realized the London Police Service had concluded its probe, without charges, in early 2019.
The revelation emerged Tuesday during high-profile, public testimony before the Canadian Heritage parliamentary committee, which is examining Hockey Canada’s handling of sexual-assault allegations. While the conduct of the national governing body for hockey had been the focal point of hearings that took place in June, it was Ottawa that was under a microscope Tuesday.
The federal government froze its funding to Hockey Canada after it was revealed in the media that the organization had settled a $3.55-million lawsuit on behalf of eight Canadian Hockey League players accused of sexually assaulting a woman after a Hockey Canada fundraising gala in London in June, 2018. The players are not named in the lawsuit and have not been publicly identified, nor has the amount of the settlement been revealed.
While several Sport Canada officials were aware in 2018 that London police were investigating the allegations, the matter was not escalated to the attention of then-minister Kirsty Duncan. Sport Canada senior director Michel Ruest, who was among those who knew four years ago about the alleged incident, told the committee that, to his knowledge, transition documents to subsequent ministers did not include information about the allegations.
In her second appearance before the committee, Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge told MPs that the federal branch must do a better job of following up on complaints of sexual assault and abuse in sport. She also said the government is considering measures to strengthen its monitoring of national sport organizations, which are subject to federal funding agreements.
Asked by Bloc Québécois MP Sébastien Lemire if she is satisfied with how Sport Canada handled the 2018 allegations, Ms. St-Onge said there’s room for improvement. “When I say that everyone within sports and Canada needs to rethink their way of doing things, I think that also includes Sport Canada,” she said.
Sheldon Kennedy, a sexual-abuse survivor and former National Hockey League player, called for the immediate resignation of Hockey Canada chief executive Scott Smith, along with his leadership team and board of directors.
“The same people with a new plan expecting different results is the definition of insanity,” he wrote in a statement posted to social media. “Enough is enough already.”
Ms. St-Onge didn’t go so far as to say that Hockey Canada executives and directors should resign, but she questioned whether the people leading the organization are fit to bring about the change in culture they have promised in recent days.
Conservative committee member John Nater, who forwarded information to Halifax police that he had recently received about the alleged 2003 assault, took the minister to task, asking if the same standard of reflection applies to the government.
“The person to your right knew of the allegations four years ago,” he said, referring to Mr. Ruest. “[He] did not inform the minister’s office and did not follow up. You’ve made mention that you’re not sure that the current leadership at Hockey Canada is the right individuals to carry on, but I question you, do you think the person sitting next to you is the right person to be leading change within Sport Canada?”
Ms. St-Onge responded that Sport Canada is not a regulatory body with powers to investigate, and noted that the branch has taken steps to improve the culture in sport. For example, it recently created the federal Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, whose mandate is to confront serious complaints of abuse and maltreatment in sport.
Mr. Nater said no one was suggesting Sport Canada should investigate allegations; rather, that it should at least monitor the status of serious complaints to ensure they’re properly dealt with.
“[Sport Canada officials] took note on a piece of paper and nothing more happened with that – it was kept in a filing cabinet somewhere,” he said. “They took note and then did nothing.”
Committee members also asked about Hockey Canada’s use of a special multimillion-dollar fund – fed by player registration fees – to settle claims of alleged sexual assault. The fund was detailed in a recent Globe and Mail investigation.
Mr. Ruest said the government was aware of the National Equity Fund, but didn’t know that it was used to pay for settlements in sexual-assault claims. Hockey Canada has said it will no longer use the fund for that purpose.
Tuesday’s hearings centred on Sport Canada, but the day began with testimony from Danielle Robitaille, a partner at law firm Henein Hutchison, which was retained by Hockey Canada to conduct an independent investigation into the 2018 allegations. Hockey Canada announced earlier this month that it was reopening that probe, after the work was initially halted in 2020 because the woman was not willing to speak with the lead investigator.
Ms. Robitaille’s opening statement provided details about what transpired in the wake of the gala held on June 18, 2018. She said she spoke with Glen McCurdie, who retired as Hockey Canada senior vice-president of insurance and risk management in December, on the morning of June 19, 2018. She said she advised him that Hockey Canada should immediately contact police. Mr. Smith, the Hockey Canada CEO, told the committee last month that the organization contacted London police around 6 p.m. that day.
Ms. Robitaille said that of the 19 players who attended the gala, 10 participated in initial interviews; seven said they wouldn’t participate until the police investigation concluded; and two declined. She clarified that she now understands that the latter two only meant to suspend their participation until the end of the police investigation, not outright decline.
This time around, she said, if players do not co-operate in the investigation, they will receive a lifetime ban from participating in Hockey Canada programs. That ban, she added, would be made public.
Ms. Robitaille declined to answer a number of questions from MPs, including whether she is aware of the identities of the eight players involved in the alleged incident, citing instructions from Hockey Canada not to waive solicitor-client privilege.
She assured the committee that she is “laser focused” on deciphering what happened in London four years ago. “We do not yet know what did or did not occur,” she said. “The goal of the investigation is to uncover the truth.”
On Wednesday, Hockey Canada representatives will return for a second round of testimony, including Mr. Smith, former CEO Tom Renney, and the chair of the Hockey Canada Foundation, Dave Andrews. Mr. McCurdie will testify for the first time. The witness list also includes representatives from leagues under the Hockey Canada umbrella.
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GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
