Hockey Canada grilled over alleged sexual assault, settlement

Monday’s hearing saw Hockey Canada executives come under fire from parliamentarians for their handling of an alleged assault on a hockey player four years ago. This led to a settled lawsuit last month.

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa called Tom Renney, Hockey Canada CEO, and Scott Smith, Hockey Canada president.

Hockey Canada and Canada’s Hockey League settled the case in May after a woman claimed that she was sexually assaulted in June 2018 by eight members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team.

In court records, the plaintiff, identified as E.M., claimed that she was repeatedly assaulted after being intoxicated in a London hotel room following a Hockey Canada event. The plaintiff, now 24 years old, was seeking $3.55million in damages from Hockey Canada and the CHL.

Smith, who will succeed Renney as CEO starting July 1, stated to the committee that members from the country’s gold-medal-winning junior team were “strongly encouraged to speak with third party investigators hired by Hockey Canada.

However, it was not made mandatory.

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on June 20, 2022.