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The 2003 Canadian world junior team is also under a cloud of suspicion — and a Halifax police investigation — as the pressure ramps up on members of the 2018 squad facing a newly reopened and separate police probe into allegations of sexual assault.
Hockey Canada released a statement Friday regarding an alleged group sexual assault involving members of the 2002-03 national junior team. That news comes as the country’s most powerful hockey organization has been facing intense pressure amid reports of another alleged sexual assault, involving members of the 2018 world junior team.
The 2003 incident, meanwhile, “should be investigated by the authorities, and we urge the police to open an investigation into this disturbing situation,” Hockey Canada said.
“Hockey Canada will co-operate with and support the authorities in every way we can, and we once again urge anyone who may have relevant information about this alleged incident to contact Halifax police immediately.”
Halifax Regional Police have confirmed that they are investigating a historic assault in 2003 in the city (which hosted that year’s World Junior Hockey Championships) after being contacted by Hockey Canada late Thursday.
On Friday, that they have independently verified, with three different sources, reports of a video that captured the 2003 incident. The video, described as being six or seven minutes long, allegedly depicts a player — speaking to an unseen person operating a camera — saying viewers were about to see “a f-king lamb roast,” according to the three sources.
The camera is then carried into a different room and the video shows roughly half a dozen players taking turns sexually assaulting a woman who was non-responsive and lying face up on a pool table, according to the source.
The Friday statement from Hockey Canada was sparked by an email to the organization from TSN reporter Rick Westhead asking about the alleged incident. It was Westhead’s reporting that exposed a settlement in a lawsuit regarding an alleged group sexual assault by the 2018 team in a hotel in London, Ont.
That sparked a national outcry that Hockey Canada had seemingly done little to investigate the action of its players, preferring to try to avoid scandal rather than deal with its issues. Sponsors left the organization en masse, including Scotiabank, Telus and Tim Hortons.
The London police service had an update Friday on its internal review of its investigation of the 2018 incident, which was ultimately closed without charges the next year. Chief Steve Williams said in a statement that a preliminary review revealed “further investigative opportunities available to us” and that the criminal investigation would be relaunched.
“As this is now an active criminal investigation, I am unable to speak further to the matter. Appropriate information will be shared once the investigation has concluded,” said Williams.
“At the conclusion of this investigation, we would welcome a review by the London’s Violence Against Women Community Advocacy Group.”
Two separate police forces in two Canadian cities are now investigating sexual-assault allegations whose origins are 15 years apart. Advocates say that they expect more stories to come out as public scrutiny intensifies.
Hockey Canada acknowledged on Friday that its staff heard a rumour about “something bad at the 2003 World Juniors” but were given no details of any sort. “ In order to learn more, Hockey Canada hired a third-party investigator to try to find more information. They were unable to learn anything before we received the details mentioned above in an email from Mr. Westhead.”
“Mr. Westhead informed Hockey Canada he has spoken to multiple witnesses who provided him with explicit descriptions of an assault, following an interview with Conservative MP John Nater who is in possession of the same or similar information,” the organization’s statement added. “The details in Mr. Westhead’s email were deeply disturbing and Hockey Canada immediately contacted Halifax Regional Police, as Halifax was the co-host city of the 2003 IIHF World Junior Championship, and also notified Sport Canada of the information shared with us.”
Hockey Canada went on to encourage Westhead, his sources and Nater to speak with police about the alleged assault.
Nater told the Star in a statement that he received information earlier this week from an individual who said they had information about the alleged sexual assault.
“I have forwarded the information they provided to the Halifax Police where the alleged incident took place and encouraged them to contact police directly. … I expect Hockey Canada to fully co-operate and support any investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse within the organization,” Nater said.
He added that the individual requested to not be identified. Nater encouraged anyone with further information to contact law enforcement.
The NHL, meanwhile, posted a statement on its website.
“We were made aware earlier today of the horrific allegations against members of the 2002-03 Canadian National Junior Team. The National Hockey League will look into the allegations and will respond appropriately.”
On Friday, Kristi Allain, a researcher who has studied men’s hockey for years, had just called the Star to discuss historic instances of sexual assault in hockey — completely unaware that the 2003 allegations had emerged practically as she was dialing.
Allain, an associate professor of sociology at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., said the latest allegations left her “a bit rattled.”
She’s been calling for the culture around hockey to change for years and says instances of sexual abuse in the sport go back decades. Things seem different this time around, though.
“I’ve never seen this kind of pressure before,” said Allain. “We’re at an important cultural moment where, you know, this can’t be tolerated anymore.”
Allain called for the entire Hockey Canada organization to be dismantled. She said she believes the board should resign and said it’s time to reckon with decades of sexual abuse that has been quietly carried out and hidden in the shadows of the country’s most prestigious sport.
The way information about new allegations has been coming out — from reporters digging into things — isn’t sustainable, either for a true reckoning with the depth of the issues or for Hockey Canada as an organization, said Allain.
“It shouldn’t be Rick Westhead uncovering this,” she said.
How much money has been paid to settle how many claims needs to be put on the table by Hockey Canada, said Allain.
“Revoke these nondisclosure agreements,” she said. “Let’s hear from people about their experiences. Let’s have a true moment of truthfulness. How can we resolve these issues without … throwing open the curtains and shining light on what’s actually happening?”
Clarification — July 25, 2022: This file was updated to clarify details of the video that captured the 2003 incident.
With files from Omar Mosleh and The Canadian Press
