The Minister of Sport Isabelle Charest is upset by the accusations of gang rape targeting two players of the Voltigeurs de Drummondville, in 2016.
• Read also: Another story of gang rape in the QMJHL
“Of course I am shaken. It’s always the victim that comes to mind, “said the Minister responsible for Sport, Recreation and the Outdoors, Thursday, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Maison du loisirs et du sport, in Montreal. .
“The first reflex is bad words that come to me [en tête]. I will not repeat them…”
Earlier this week, Radio-Canada revealed that Noah Corson was accused of sexually assaulting a young girl under the age of 16, along with two other minors, one of whom was also a member of the Hockey League team. major junior from Quebec (LHJMQ). The latter two have already pleaded guilty before the Youth Division. The son of former Canadian badass Shayne Corson will return to court this summer.
We have not finished hearing regarding aggression in sport, according to Ms. Charest.
“Others will come out, because we finally have mechanisms to denounce. We finally have a way of entry for the victims and not only for the sports circles, ”she argued.
“More and more, I think that people are aware that these situations are not acceptable and that they must be denounced loud and clear. Before, we kept it to ourselves, it was personal and we didn’t get involved. There is a collective awareness. »
Concerns
The triple Olympic medalist in speed skating wants to take care of the victims, but she also wants to stop these attacks. To achieve this, awareness and workshops like those that QMJHL players received at the start of the season on sexual consent are possible solutions.
“We are seeing what resources are needed to ensure that all complaints are received and processed,” explained Ms. Charest. We have not finished investing resources and training is one of my main concerns. »
The initiator of the workshops offered last fall to QMJHL players, author, director and political scientist Léa Clermont-Dion had mentioned to the Journal earlier this week that the experiment should be repeated every year.
Minister Charest promised her support for the QMJHL.
To do the housework
The sex scandals that darkened the world of junior hockey led in particular to the resignation of the board of directors of Hockey Canada. The federation recently announced the candidates who might form the new CA, a situation that delights the CAQ member of Brome-Missisquoi.
“I find the composition very interesting. If I’m not mistaken, there is only one person who has a direct connection to hockey: Cassie Campbell-Pascall [ancienne capitaine de l’équipe féminine canadienne]. People have expertise in governance, legal, litigation, mediation. We completely get out of the dynamics of hockey culture. I find that very interesting. They are there for a year. It’s short, but we’re doing a lot of cleaning. »
