A third-party investigator hired by Hockey Canada to look into an alleged group sexual assault said players who don’t participate in her investigation will be banned from Hockey Canada for life — and that many players she hasn’t interviewed are worried that Hockey Canada and some politicians have pre-judged them guilty.
Danielle Robitaille, a partner at law firm Henein Hutchison LLP, told the House of Commons standing committee on Canadian heritage that Hockey Canada has advised her that players who don’t take part in her reopened investigation will be banned from Hockey Canada and will be named publicly.
In May 2022, Hockey Canada settled a $3.55-million lawsuit filed in April by a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by eight former Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players following a Hockey Canada Foundation event in London, Ont., in June 2018.
The allegations have not been proven in court. The identities of the players allegedly involved and the alleged victim are not publicly known.
In her testimony, Robitaille said Hockey Canada contacted her firm shortly after the alleged assault and gave her a mandate to learn the truth of what happened and make policy recommendations to Hockey Canada.
WATCH | Robitaille says Hockey Canada will ban players who do not participate:
Lawyer Danielle Robitaille says Hockey Canada will ban players who do not participate in investigation
8 hours ago
Duration 1:17
Robitaille appeared before a standing House of Commons committee examining allegations of sexual abuse in the sport. Robitaille said legal counsel for eight of the nine players with whom she hasn’t spoken told her they’re concerned about being pre-judged by Hockey Canada.
But the third-party investigation was unable to interview all of the 2018 world junior hockey team players who were at the event in the subsequent months, so it presented a preliminary report and recommendations to Hockey Canada in September 2018. The investigation eventually closed with an agreement between Henein Hutchison and Hockey Canada that it could be reopened at any time.
In the meantime, the case has prompted unprecedented scrutiny of hockey culture and Hockey Canada as an organization. Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have criticized Hockey Canada since the case became public in May.
In her testimony, Robitaille acknowledged the public anger the case has ignited.
“I appreciate that it’s very frustrating to Canadians that we don’t have an outcome yet,” Robitaille told the committee.
“My investigation is taking time, but justice and fairness sometimes take time.”
Robitaille provided several new details about the investigation to MPs at the committee. While Hockey Canada executives previously told the committee that most players at the London event did not participate in the initial investigation, Robitaille said 10 out of 19 gave interviews.
She said the nine who chose not to participate advised her through their lawyer that they would not participate until the London Police Service concluded its criminal investigation of the incident, which started in July 2018. The London police closed their investigation without charges in February 2019.
Nine hockey players said they would not participate in a third party Hockey Canada investigation into an alleged sexual assault until police in London, Ont., had concluded a criminal investigation into the matter. (Paula Duhatschek/CBC)
Robitaille said she still could not interview the players after that point because the alleged victim said through her lawyer that she would not provide a statement recalling her version of what happened in June 2018 to the investigation.
Robitaille said that without that statement, she was “not prepared” to arrange interviews with the players and the investigation went dormant.
“I was not prepared to interview those players absent the complainant’s version of events,” Robitaille told the committee.
“As a matter of due process, I could not interview players without giving them fair notice of what was alleged against them.”
Robitaille said that, earlier this month, she received notice that the complainant would provide a statement. Investigators now have the statement and the investigation is active again.
Hockey Canada executives have told the committee that while players were encouraged to participate in the initial stage of the third-party investigation, they were not required to do so.
But Robitaille said the organization has now told her that players who don’t participate will be banned from Hockey Canada and that the ban would be made public.
Robitaille stressed that the investigation is ongoing.
Players concerned politicians, Hockey Canada ‘pre-judged’ them
Robitaille added that legal counsel for eight of the nine players with whom she hasn’t spoken told her the players are concerned that some politicians and Hockey Canada officials already have decided they’re guilty.
“They have expressed concerns about my investigation, particularly as it relates to comments made by politicians and members of Hockey Canada. They have a concern that the issue has been pre-judged,” she said.
“I am attempting to address those concerns and assuage those concerns, and I hope that I will receive voluntary compliance with my investigation.”
London police announced last week that they will reopen their investigation into the alleged assault.
The organization announced Monday that it will commit to a number of other changes, including enhanced training focused on masculinity, consent and toxic behaviours and a universal code of conduct to prevent and address maltreatment in the sport.
WATCH | Sports minister voices concerns about Hockey Canada leadership on CBC’s Power & Politics:
Reckoning continues for Hockey Canada
23 hours ago
Duration 10:23
The standing committee on Canadian heritage heard from numerous witnesses today, relating to an alleged sexual assault by Hockey Canada players in 2018. The testimony reveals Sport Canada knew of the allegations in 2018, but didn’t inform the sports minister of the time. Minister of Sport Pascal St-Onge says ‘Hockey Canada leadership should ask themselves’ if they’re the right group to lead change.
Appearing before the committee Tuesday, St-Onge said the news about the fund and the 2003 allegation has damaged Hockey Canada’s reputation.
“Our level of trust in Hockey Canada is extremely low now,” St-Onge said.
“These revelations illustrate a deep, toxic culture that allows people to act with impunity.”
St-Onge pointed out that the government recently established a new regulatory body, the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, which can hear and investigate complaints from Canadian athletes.
Canadian sports organizations will have to subject themselves to the new watchdog before April 2023 or risk the loss of federal government funding.
St-Onge said she hopes changes to hockey culture off the ice will have implications for the sport.
“Hockey Canada must also take this situation as an opportunity to make a fundamental shift on the underlying violence in the sport, including issues such as racism, concussions and fighting on the ice,” St-Onge said.
Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith is set to testify before the committee on Wednesday, along with former CEO Tom Renney, who was in the position from 2014 to June 2022.
On Tuesday, retired NHL player Sheldon Kennedy, who has spoken out against bullying and abuse in sport, called on Smith and other members of Hockey Canada’s leadership to resign.
“[Having] the same people with a new plan expecting different results is the definition of insanity,” Kennedy said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.
Giving my 26 yrs of advocating for victims, I cant sit idle any longer. <a href=”https://t.co/r98K7b66xG”>pic.twitter.com/r98K7b66xG</a>
Michel Ruest, a senior director of Sport Canada, told the committee the federal organization was made aware of the alleged sexual assault in 2018 but did not follow up with Hockey Canada at the time.
Appearing before the Canadian heritage committee Tuesday, Ruest also told MPs that Sport Canada, a branch of Canadian Heritage, did not make then-sport minister Kent Hehr’s office aware of the allegations.
St-Onge has said she did not know of the allegations until this year.
Several MPs asked Ruest why Hockey Canada’s federal funding was not cut before June of this year, and why there was no follow-up on the case.
“So there was this allegation made, you were made aware of it on June 26 [2018], and for four years not once did you or your organization follow up with Hockey Canada about these allegations?” Conservative MP John Nater asked Ruest.
Ruest replied that Sport Canada was awaiting the result of Hockey Canada’s third party investigation and the London Police Service’s criminal investigation.
Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage Isabelle Mondou, who also appeared before the committee Tuesday, said she didn’t consider the delay unusual.
“What we knew at Sport Canada is that there was a police investigation underway, and as you know, sometimes police investigations can take years,” Mondou told the committee.
“It wasn’t necessarily surprising to us that the investigation was still ongoing. What surprised us was that we hadn’t had enough updates.”
NDP MP Peter Julian asked why Sport Canada doesn’t have measures in place to verify whether sporting organizations are following anti-harassment measures.
“I think Canadians have lost confidence,” Julian said.
“They’ve lost confidence in Hockey Canada, they’re losing confidence in Sport Canada, because we’re not seeing the kind of attentive followup that actually means these policies that are put into place are more than just vague words.”
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.
