Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on such an important initiative, which came directly from parliamentarians, from MPs, and speaks directly to some of the most horrific experiences of our youngest citizens who are engaged in sport, something that we as Canadians believe is important. I want to acknowledge the tireless work of so many and the strength of so many survivors who came forward to take part in the safe sports study. I want to acknowledge the tireless work of many advocates, those in research and academia and those who have been involved in sport, who want to support the survivors coming forward and work, very much, toward effecting long-lasting, systemic change when it comes to sport in our country.
I want to acknowledge the work of my own colleague who was the lead on this committee from the NDP. My colleague, the MP for New Westminster—Burnaby, along with others, put in many hours to make sure that this report was of the highest quality and that critical recommendations were made on how we need to go forward. I believe that, first and foremost, the importance of a national public inquiry is critical.
We in the NDP are clear. There must be a national public inquiry into safe sport. We have heard that from survivors, advocates, and those in academia. We have heard it from people who want change. It is deeply disappointing to see that the Liberals, despite their commitments to integrity and fair play, do not actually support a public inquiry into safe sport. Before I go any further, I would like to reflect on some of what we heard from the report.
On May 26, 2022, a story was published by Rick Westhead regarding an out-of-court settlement made by Hockey Canada to women who had been sexually assaulted by a group of hockey players on the 2017-18 national junior team in London, Ontario, after a gala. Five players, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton, are now facing jail time.
One hundred and four witnesses spoke to the committee, but it was that story, that bomb that went off, that really underscored not just the horrors within our sport system, the level of abuse and, in this case, sexual violence or sexual assault oftentimes targeted at women, but also the way in which our sport system, sport organizations and sport officials turned a blind eye while fully knowing that this kind of abuse and horror had taken place under their watch.
This is not what sport should be about. Canadians rightfully love sports. In the case of hockey, which is oftentimes referred to as our national sport, even though, of course, lacrosse is our national sport, the fact is that hockey was tarnished by these stories of abuse that came forward. The way that Hockey Canada dealt with this abuse was shocking to so many Canadians
We have all grown up with hockey as part of our lives. Here in northern Canada, it has been a key part of the lives of many boys, girls, young men and young women. It is part of our fond memories as we grew up, such as the more recent one of Sid calling out for Iggy to score the Olympic winning goal, or sitting with friends, and maybe family, on a Saturday night to cheer on Canada's team. However, it is clear that the culture that surrounds hockey needs fixing. For too long, we have put young boys on a pedestal, especially within junior hockey, expecting boys to act like men without giving them the supports necessary to be their best selves.
It should be clear to anyone who has been reading the sports sections of the newspapers over the last couple of years that harassment and abuse are sadly endemic to high-level sports in this country. We would be remiss to ignore the all-too-common pressures that athletes face to play or practise with some pretty serious injuries. It is only in the last couple of years that sports have even begun to take seriously things like brain injuries, especially when dealing with minors. There is no question that this needs to change.
Hockey culture in particular admires Patrice Bergeron for suiting up in game six of a playoff game with a small puncture in his lung, a cracked rib, torn rib cartilage and a separated shoulder. The careers of Carey Price, Shea Weber and Paul Byron ultimately ended after the injuries they faced in the Habs' run to the Stanley Cup that ultimately came up short in 2021. We admire their courage and tolerance for pain but ignore the lifelong cost.
Shea Weber recently opened up about his post-career quality of life. After a charity softball tournament, he could not walk for two weeks. Carey Price, an inspiration for so many, even in my riding, talked about how his forced retirement contributed to descending deeper into a drinking problem that he has since gotten help for. Athletes sacrifice their bodies, but in many cases, we are talking about kids. It is often too big a sacrifice they do not fully understand, and they are surrounded by adults who do not take their long-term health seriously, which needs changing.
Even since the completion of this study, we are reminded of a culture that needs fixing. Just recently, Rick Westhead, who along with Katie Strang led a lot of the reporting that forced Canadians to start being honest about a broken culture that needs fixing, wrote about an incident, this one in 2014, where a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by eight OHL players. She decided to come forward after watching a press conference where the London chief of police apologized for not appropriately dealing with the sexual assault by team Canada players.
She had been invited to watch TV with a 19-year-old player. When she arrived, there were eight players in the basement, aged 16 to 19. Here are her words:
I was taken into a bathroom. And that's when the player who invited me over began...starting sexual acts. They never closed the bathroom door fully.... And then next thing I know more players start coming in. There's players standing and watching. They start taking their turns, doing whatever it is they want. I never told anyone because I thought it was my fault. I thought I was the one that was responsible because I had made the choice to go hang out with this guy and a buddy.... I did what I could to just forget it, not think about it, wipe it away. But it just built up inside in the back of my brain....
When she went to the police in London to report the incident earlier this year, she was told they could not help her. Hockey Canada responded to this reporting by saying that it was out of Hockey Canada's hands and to use the appropriate CHL league. The cycle of violence, followed by disappointment over the lack of consequences, continues. We have work to do in this country, and the Liberals are not getting the work done.
When representatives of Hockey Canada came to the heritage committee, they attempted to show that sexual assault was taken seriously. Do not forget that this is the same Hockey Canada that, after covering up the sexual assault that took place in 2018, welcomed Carter Hart onto team Canada at the World Juniors and the IIHF World Championships a year later. This is the same Hockey Canada that claimed that its attempted cover-up of sexual assault was done because it respected victims, saying that it had a “moral obligation to respond to the alleged behaviour that occurred at one of our events by players who attended at our invitation.” Hockey Canada wished to respect the alleged victim's privacy and avoid requiring her to participate “in a prolonged court proceeding”, and said it was “inappropriate to victimize the young woman in court.” Apparently, the board's instinct was “one of compassion for the young woman”.
These statements rocked the world of minor hockey and junior hockey. It was felt in communities like—
