The Bloc Québécois presented a motion on Thursday after question period indicating to the Speaker of the House of Commons that there was unanimous consent from elected officials to call Hockey Canada before this committee, which he only had to to certify.
Shocked
by this story, the federal Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, had announced earlier in the day a financial audit on Hockey Canada.
<q data-attributes="{"lang":{"value":"fr","label":"Français"},"value":{"html":"La chose que tous les Canadiens veulent savoir et moi aussi, c'est: have public funds been used to cover up this story of gang rape? We’re going to do a financial audit to make sure that’s not the case”,”text”:”The thing that all Canadians want to know and me too is: are there funds audiences that were used to cover up this story of gang rape? We’re going to do a financial audit to make sure that’s not the case”}}”>The thing that all Canadians want to know, and I do too, is: were public funds used to cover up this gang rape story? We’re going to do a financial audit to make sure that’s not the case.she said in a press scrum.
The young woman in this case, identified by the initials EM, was allegedly repeatedly assaulted in a London, Ont., hotel room in June 2018 after hosting a Hockey Canada Foundation gala and presentation of a golf tournament, TSN reported.
The young woman’s lawyer, Robert Talach, confirmed that his client had reached an amicable agreement in the context of a civil lawsuit that satisfies her. The victim was asking for $3.5 million. The amount received is not known.
Hockey Canada also confirms that it sealed the deal privately.
Organizations need to be held accountable
said Pascale St-Onge in an interview with All one morningEarlier in the day.
The Minister of Sports wants to know where the amount the victim received from Hockey Canada came from.
« My link with sports organizations is primarily financial through public funds that we give to enable athletes to train. There are conditions when these organizations receive these public funds. And clearly, public funds cannot be used in this kind of situation, to cover up such events. »
Pascale St-Onge will rely on verification mechanisms to obtain answers.
All Canadian sports organizations undergo audits on a regular basis, the Minister recalled. We can anticipate these audits, and every penny, every dollar must be justified.
Editor’s note: An audit is an independent analysis that certifies the accounts of a company or organization.
Pascale St-Onge also wonders why Hockey Canada got involved in this affair.
The other thing that Canadians want to know is how such an important sports organization in Canada has ensured that the players who have these charges against them are not accountable for their actions and that there are several among them who are today in the NHL?
did she say.
There is a settled agreement, it is a complex file, she added. The NHL said it was going to shed light on this story. So we will see what happens next and we continue to follow the file.
I am disgusted and discouraged
Pascale St-Onge had already reacted without filter to this story, Wednesday evening.
I’m disgusted and discouraged to hear that once again a story of sexual assault is popping up in the sporting world.
she said by email.
This is a complex and worrying file. We will take the time to analyze the facts and the role played by the federation
she added.
Minister St-Onge revealed that she learned of the existence of this amicable agreement the day before the release of the TSN report. It was the president of Hockey Canada who called her to let her know.
Neither Sport Canada, to my knowledge, nor I, certainly not, knew that such a file was in progress at Hockey Canada, affirmed Ms. St-Onge. No one had been notified that a case like this was before the courts.
« This story shows again that there is a culture of silence that reigns, and we must put an end to this culture. The athletes’ entourage and the organization have responsibilities. »
The Federal Minister of Sports believes that athletes must be better supervised.
Athletes should be educated on issues of consent. We need to talk about sex education to understand what is appropriate and what is not.
Since I arrived in office, this is what I have been working on, changing the culture of sport
concluded Pascale St-Onge.
Radio-Canada Sports has attempted to contact Hockey Canada to obtain a reaction to Minister St-Onge’s remarks. A federation communications manager then referred us to the statement released at the time this story was revealed by TSN. We read that Hockey Canada thinks deeply troubled by these serious allegations of sexual assault
. As soon as she was informed of this story in 2018, she contacted the relevant law enforcement authorities.
can we also read.