OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada’s sports minister ordered a forensic audit of Hockey Canada on Thursday after the organization recently settled a lawsuit with a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by multiple members of the country’s 2018 world junior hockey team.
Pascale St-Onge said she was “shocked and angry” and said an investigation will be carried out to ensure public funds were not used in an out-of-court settlement to “cover up” the story.
The plaintiff, identified as “E.M.” in court records, alleges she was repeatedly assaulted while intoxicated in a London, Ontario, hotel room following a Hockey Canada event honoring the gold medal-winning junior team.
The woman, now 24, was seeking $3.55 million in damages. Details of the settlement were not released.
Bloc Québécois MP Sébastien Lemire, who introduced a motion Thursday in the House of Commons calling for an investigation, said he was “outraged” by the allegations.
“How do we learn [about this] four years after the fact?” he asked. “Have we covered up charges of sex scandal allegations involving Hockey Canada players?”
In a statement released May 26, Hockey Canada said the plaintiff chose not to speak with both the police and Hockey Canada’s independent investigator. The organization also said the woman did not want to identify the players involved.
“This was her right and we fully respect her wishes,” the statement said.
The NHL also launched an investigation.
“We will endeavor to determine the underlying facts and, to the extent this may involve players who are now in the NHL, we will determine what action, if any, would be appropriate,” the league said in statement.