Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal

2003 incident Halifax Regional Police started investigating allegations of a group sexual assault from 2003, and have the two named suspects. The alleged incident happened when Team Canada was in Halifax for the finals in January 2003, where the team won a silver medal. then attended the Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf event on June 18, 2018, where shortly after, an alleged group assault in London, Ontario, took place. Up to eight people were believed to have been involved, and police insisted they had reasonable grounds to believe that five members of the 2018 Canada World Juniors sexually assaulted an unnamed woman in a local hotel room. E.M., who was 20 at the time of the incident, alleged that she had been intoxicated by a defendant identified as "John Doe 1" at Jack's Bar in London, Ontario, After E.M. engaged in sexual intercourse with John Doe 1, four men entered the room and allegedly assaulted E.M. The specific players were not identified, but it was stated that the group included members of Canada's gold medal-winning 2018 World Junior Championship team. E.M. alleged that Hockey Canada had refused to investigate or reprimand the players in question, and sought C$3.55 million in damages. John Doe 1, later identified as Michael McLeod, invited his teammates to the hotel room with a group chat message, "Who wants to be in a three-way quick Room 209, (signed) Mikey." In addition, the woman states that she could not give consent to any of the actions because of how intoxicated she was and that the group of eight (John Does 1–8) would not let her leave the room, despite multiple attempts by E.M. The allegations were made public in a complaint filed April 2022 in Ontario Superior Court. The lawsuit was filed against Hockey Canada, the CHL, and eight unnamed CHL players. The complainant stated in the complaint that those involved were "players for, and members of the CHL and Hockey Canada, including but not limited to members of the Canada U20 Men's Junior Hockey Team." In May 2022, Rick Westhead of TSN reported that Hockey Canada and the CHL had agreed to settle the lawsuit. On July 26, 2022, a previously agreed upon non-disclosure agreement between the complainant and Hockey Canada was dropped. A day later, Hockey Canada's executives, headed by former Hockey Canada president Scott Smith, testified before a parliamentary committee as to the organization's handling of the alleged sexual assault case, which included questions about the NDA. As of September 2022, the incident was under investigation by London police, Hockey Canada, and the National Hockey League (NHL). In December 2022, Hockey Canada stated that it had received Henein Hutchinson's report but that it would remain private. However, on March 27, 2023, the House of Commons Heritage Committee unanimously passed a motion ordering the report to be handed over within 24 hours with an amendment from Liberal MP Chris Bittle to have the report redacted for privacy purposes. Top sponsors, including Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, Scotiabank, and Imperial Oil (which markets the Esso brand in Canada), withdrew support from the 2023 World Juniors and the entire 2022–23 season. The federal Minister for Sport Pascale St-Onge The audit commissioned by the federal government found that Hockey Canada did not use public funds to settle sexual assault cases or pay for related legal fees. The board will serve a special one-year term in order to focus on creating necessary change to improve the governance at Hockey Canada. Hockey Canada hired human rights leader Irfan Chaudhry as its first vice-president of diversity and inclusion. == Parliamentary probe ==

in 2011 In June 2022, Minister St-Onge called for a forensic audit into whether taxpayer funding was used to pay out sexual assault settlements. St-Onge also paused federal funding to Hockey Canada until it explained its response to the 2018 allegations. In September 2022, NDP member of parliament Peter Julian requested a "thorough" audit into Hockey Canada's finances since 2016; he accused the organization of spending thousands of dollars on expensive dinner parties, hotel rooms, and championship rings for board members. == Reserve funds ==

On July 18, 2022, it was reported that Hockey Canada had maintained a reserve to pay for "uninsured liabilities", including "potential claims for historical sexual abuse". The information was contained within an affidavit filed in an Ontario court in July 2021 by Hockey Canada's vice-president of insurance and risk management Glen McCurdie. Although Hockey Canada denies the reserve being a slush fund, reporters from CBC News, Toronto Star and The Athletic characterized the reserve functioning as a slush fund. It was reported in The Globe and Mail that Hockey Canada had diverted player registration fees to a fund known as the National Equity Fund, which was worth approximately $15 million, to "pay out settlements in cases of alleged sexual assault without its insurance company, and with minimal outside scrutiny". In response, Hockey Canada issued a statement regarding this reserve, referring the "National Equity Fund", and stating that it was used primarily "to pay for the organization's insurance premiums and to cover any claims not otherwise covered by insurance policies, including those related to physical injury, harassment, and sexual misconduct." On October 3, 2022, The Globe and Mail reported that Hockey Canada had created a "Participants Legacy Trust Fund" in 1999, to distribute funding to its member organizations for "matters including but not limited to sexual abuse". Funded with at least $7.1 million from the National Equity Fund, it had been created to cover claims from between 1989 and 1995, before Hockey Canada had obtained insurance for sexual assault claims. The trust was to expire in May 2020, but filings in the Court of King's Bench of Alberta revealed that it had been extended to 2039; in a January 2019 affidavit, Hockey Canada CFO Brian Cairo stated that "the trustees believe that more claims will be brought after the Division Date as currently defined, and this is the primary reason to extend the duration of the trust". == Responses, reactions and outcomes ==

Hockey broadcaster Paul Romanuk noted the significance of the settlement first being reported by a writer for TSN—Hockey Canada's long-time media partner—telling the Toronto Star that "[the World Junior Championship] is associated with TSN as a brand, massively. You have to give so much credit to the person or persons who green-lighted Rick [Westhead] to continue with his uncovering of the story." On July 20, Hockey Canada stated that it will only use the National Equity Fund for investments in insurance, safety, wellness, and equity initiatives moving forward. In further remarks on July 21, Trudeau stated that "there needs to be a real reckoning with what we saw from that organization, and the wilful blindness to something that other organizations have been faced with—struggled with—but made good decisions around." During the committee hearings, Smith stated that he would not step down as president and CEO of Hockey Canada, explaining that he would "not walk away from the demands you have rightly put before us". On July 25, 2022, Hockey Canada published an "Action Plan" to address "systemic issues in hockey", including "toxic" behaviour and the "culture of silence that exists in corners of the game". The plan includes the development of a confidential reporting system for "complaints of maltreatment, abuse or harassment" among the participants of activities sanctioned by Hockey Canada, an "enhanced character screening for all high-performance players", and a "comprehensive review of all existing training programs by an independent specialist." Hockey Canada's board of directors will appoint an independent committee to oversee the implementation plan. Hockey Canada hired crisis management and public relations firm Navigator Ltd. On August 6, 2022, Brind'Amour stepped down effective immediately; Andrea Skinner was appointed as an interim chair on August 9. On August 11, Hockey Canada posted a job opening for a new position of "director of maltreatment, harassment and abuse. A Nanos Research poll concluding in early-August found that "fewer than one in 10 Canadians polled supported using player registration fees to settle sexual assault claims." In a poll by the Angus Reid Institute, 80% of respondents supported the federal government's suspension of funding to Hockey Canada, 63% of respondents felt that Hockey Canada needed new senior leadership, and 58% of respondents—including 62% of women surveyed—doubted whether the organization's Action Plan would have any meaningful impact on the culture of hockey and the treatment of women and girls. Amid the scandal, almost all of Hockey Canada's premier marketing partners announced that they would suspend their activities with the organization, including BDO, Canadian Tire Corporation, General Motors Canada (via the Chevrolet marque), Imperial Oil (via the Esso brand), Recipe Unlimited, Scotiabank, Telus, and Tim Hortons. Furthermore, Canadian Tire pulled its financial support of the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Halifax/Moncton. The 2022 World Junior Championships in Edmonton—which had been curtailed and rescheduled to August 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic—subsequently featured no in-arena sponsorships besides that of IIHF global sponsor Tissot. Attendance for the tournament was also much lower than previous editions of the tournament, which are normally held during the winter holiday season. Media outlets credited the rescheduling, the Hockey Canada scandal, as well as the removal and replacement of Russia with Latvia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as possible factors in the decline. Hockey Québec stated that its board had no confidence that Hockey Canada could "act effectively to change the culture of hockey with the structure in place". The OHF's executive director Phillip McKee once again asked Hockey Canada to not collect Participant Assessment Fees from Ontario players for the 2022–23 season, stating that their request had not been directed to Hockey Canada's board before Brind'Amour's resignation, and that the OHF were "unwavering in our commitment to ensure that the game of hockey is available to all in a safe, fun and inclusive environment". All of Hockey Canada's premier marketing partners, also including Nike Inc. and SkipTheDishes, reaffirmed their suspension of support for Hockey Canada's men's hockey program and events for the 2022–23 season. A Tim Hortons representative stated that the organization "needs to take strong and definitive action before it can regain the faith and trust of Canadians", and that the company will still sponsor its youth, women's, and sledge hockey programs. On October 6, Canadian Tire announced that it would permanently cut ties with Hockey Canada for "continu[ing] to resist meaningful change", stating that the company was "committed to supporting hockey and sport that is inclusive and safe for all Canadians". On October 8, Skinner resigned as interim board chair of Hockey Canada. Amid calls for leadership change of Hockey Canada, Scott Smith and the entire board of directors departed on October 11, 2022. 2023 The Government of Canada stated its intent to resume funding Hockey Canada in April 2023, on the proviso that the governing body took satisfactory action to address sexual abuse in the sport. In June 2023, Hockey Canada announced the "Beyond the Boards Summit" to be held in September. The summit will discuss ways to make hockey a positive experience for participants; and changing current hockey culture which includes "elitism, gender-based violence, homophobia, misogyny, racism and sexism". In July 2023, Hockey Canada announced Katherine Henderson as its first female president and CEO. After the announcement, Bauer Hockey reinstated its sponsorship of Hockey Canada. Later the same month, Nike announced its sponsorship of Hockey Canada would not resume. Hockey Canada established Sports Complaints in July 2022, as an independent third party to handle maltreatment complaints by a trauma-informed processes. Hockey Canada also affiliated with the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, as a condition of federal funding being restored in October 2022. According to Hockey Canada, Sport Complaints is led by two lawyers and staffed by "diverse professionals reflecting both gender and racial diversity". 2025 criminal trial On January 24, 2024, The Globe and Mail, citing unnamed sources, reported that five members of the team had been told to surrender to London police. On January 28, Alex Formenton surrendered himself; two days later, on January 30, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Michael McLeod, and Cal Foote were formally charged in Canada with sexual assault. From April22 to June13, 2025, Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia oversaw an eight-week trial of Formenton, Hart, Dubé, McLeod, and Foote. In its first few days, the court recessed for a short period, before Justice Carroccia returned and declared a mistrial. The existing jury was let go and a new trial date was set. The reason for the mistrial was not given due to a publication ban put in place by the judge. A new jury was selected later that day and the second trial began on April 28. All five defendants pleaded not guilty. With the jury dismissed, Justice Carroccia adjudicated the case on her own. Justice Maria Carroccia ruled that: The acquitted players are unrestricted free agents, and allowed to sign an NHL contract as of October 15, 2025, and be fully reinstated by the league as of December 1, 2025. == Depiction in media ==

The Fifth Estate published the documentary "Anatomy of a Scandal" on September 27, 2022, using public statements by team members of the 2018 Canada World Juniors team collected from a variety of published sources. On February 9, 2023, The Fifth Estate published a second part to the documentary, titled "Anatomy of a Scandal 2". Code of Misconduct, a documentary film about the scandal by Sébastien Trahan, premiered at the 2026 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. == See also ==