Evidence of meeting #38 for Canadian Heritage in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was players.
A video is available from Parliament.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you, Ms. Ferreri.
Now I go to Chris Bittle for the Liberals.
You have five minutes, Chris.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe Mr. Maloney will be taking my time.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
June 20th, 2022 / 5:15 p.m.
Liberal
James Maloney Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Gentlemen, I want to pick up on what Mr. Housefather started with, to thank the three of you for being here today and to thank Hockey Canada for all it has done over the years. I also want to add that you've been quite candid today, and I am very grateful. I believe everybody is. This is a very, very serious situation, and it's apparent to me that you treat it as such.
I want to go through some of the process so that I can understand it and so that people listening can understand it a bit. You learned of this. You reported it the same day. You reached out to your insurance company. You contacted the police. You reached out to a third party investigator, Henein Hutchison. Is that right?
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
James Maloney Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
They started their investigation, which has stopped. Now, I understand that the NHL is conducting an independent investigation as well, because 22 of the players on that team have been drafted by the NHL. That investigation is ongoing. Is that right?
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
James Maloney Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Okay. I take it that you're co-operating with that investigation to the extent that you've been asked to do so.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
James Maloney Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
You'll obviously do so going forward. Okay.
Now, depending on the outcome of that investigation, further action could be taken by Hockey Canada. Is that correct?
5:15 p.m.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Hockey Canada
I believe I said, in answer to a previous question, that if there is additional information that would be appropriate to refer to our third party investigation law firm, then we would re-engage with them and go through the process. Ultimately, any outcomes of that, if they were disciplinary in nature, would be handled by a three-person adjudication panel that we appointed in the summer of 2018.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
James Maloney Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Right. Thank you.
Did the NHL specifically ask Hockey Canada to stop its investigation pending the NHL's investigation?
5:20 p.m.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Hockey Canada
No. We were advised in February 2019 that the London Police Service had stopped its criminal investigation. We kept our investigation open through our third party investigator until September 2020.
On multiple occasions, our third party investigative firm reached out to the plaintiff's counsel, the young woman's counsel. Through the summer of 2019, there was a suggestion that she may be willing to provide a written statement. That never materialized. She never followed through on doing that. We continued to follow up. In September 2020, we suspended the investigation.
5:20 p.m.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Hockey Canada
That was 26 months later.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
James Maloney Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
There's no ongoing investigation by the police. My understanding is that it's at the wish of the plaintiff. Is that right?
5:20 p.m.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Hockey Canada
I'm sorry, Madam Chair. I don't know if I can comment on procedures with respect to the London Police Service.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
James Maloney Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
All right. Thank you.
I want to go back to this word “borrow” that's been thrown around a bit. The way I interpreted it was that Team Canada borrows these players, because they all play for teams across Canada.
Was each of the teams that these players came from advised of what took place?
5:20 p.m.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Hockey Canada
I believe I mentioned that earlier in a response. We advised the teams of the players at the time—the teams at the time.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
James Maloney Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Right.
Hockey Canada is an umbrella organization. When you say you borrow from the teams, in fact it's really an extra layer of protection, not a way of deferring it to somebody else, if I can put it that way.
5:20 p.m.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Hockey Canada
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I believe I used the term “borrow”, and I've probably used it in proceedings that are much different from this.
5:20 p.m.
President and Chief Operating Officer, Hockey Canada
Player X plays for a team in the NCAA or the CHL. They then leave those teams and come to a selection camp for our national junior team. If they're fortunate enough, they're one of 22 players who are on that roster. We borrow them for that period of time. Then they return back to their club team.
5:20 p.m.
Liberal
James Maloney Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
That's right, so their conduct is still governed not only by Hockey Canada but also by the team from which you “borrow” them. That's a hockey term, in fairness. Is that correct?