Hockey Canada’s non-disclosure agreement in crosshairs of parliamentary committee – National
The non-disclosure settlement protecting Hockey Canada‘s settlement of a lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct is now within the crosshairs of a brand new parliamentary committee request for paperwork concerning the group’s dealing with of the matter.
The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage met behind closed doorways on Wednesday afternoon. Late Thursday afternoon it revealed the minutes of that assembly.
They element the choice of the committee to formally request paperwork about how Hockey Canada dealt with the allegation of sexual assault in 2018 in opposition to a number of gamers on the World Junior championship staff — in time for 2 conferences subsequent month.
On July 26 and July 27, the committee will invite Sports activities Minister Pascale St-Onge again to testify.
It’s subpoenaing officers from Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and Sport Canada, and in addition inviting witnesses from the insurance coverage firm BFL Canada and Henein Hutchison, which is the exterior agency that probed the allegations.
The committee is requesting copies of communications between Hockey Canada and groups and gamers concerning the alleged sexual assault, in addition to a duplicate of the non-disclosure settlement that’s redacted as a way to defend identities.
Members of Parliament on the committee additionally need minutes of conferences held by Hockey Canada and the Hockey Canada Basis topic to solicitor-client privilege, litigation privilege and settlement privilege from June 2018 till July 15, 2022.
Of word, the committee doesn’t but seem to have used its energy to order the paperwork be launched.
“Mother and father who’ve youngsters in hockey have the best to know why Hockey Canada dealt with this case in such an irresponsible method,” stated the NDP’s Peter Julian in a press release concerning the choice.
“And so they need to know what their authorities is doing concretely for an actual tradition change within the face of sexual misconduct and assault linked to Hockey Canada and different sports activities organizations throughout the nation.”
The group stays deep inside a firestorm of scrutiny over its dealing with of sexual assault allegations stemming from 2018. A lawsuit filed earlier this yr alleged eight gamers on the nationwide junior staff sexually assaulted a lady in a lodge room in London, Ont. on the time.
The allegations haven’t been examined in court docket.
Hockey Canada settled the lawsuit in Could, and is now going through a monetary audit as a consequence of wrap on July 22 about its dealing with of the matter and whether or not any federal funds had been utilized in reference to the deal.
Amid the extreme scrutiny, Sports activities Minister Pascale St-Onge stated on Wednesday she is freezing federal funding to the group till it indicators up with newly created Workplace of the Sport Integrity Commissioner — which was created to make sure unbiased investigation of abuse allegations.
St-Onge stated Hockey Canada may even should make public the report and proposals it obtained from Toronto legislation agency Henein Hutchison LLP, which did the preliminary exterior probe of the allegations, together with its plan to vary the “tradition of silence” within the group.
Throughout query interval on Tuesday, St-Onge had stated she was “not happy” with the testimony from Hockey Canada high leaders the day gone by on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday referred to as the group’s dealing with of the allegations “unacceptable,” whereas St-Onge stated Hockey Canada might be “held accountable.”
Scott Smith, president of the group, had been requested by Liberal MP Anthony Housefather what number of different allegations of sexual assault Hockey Canada has obtained over the previous decade.
In response, Smith stated they’ve obtained one to 2 allegations of sexual assault per yr for the previous 5 – 6 years, which might cowl the interval extending again to 2016 or 2017.
