Acquitled the charges weighed against them, the five former team players Canada Junior are still the subject of an investigation by an independent committee and remain suspended from “any participation in the programs sanctioned by the organization” of Hockey Canada.
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In November 2022, an investigation report produced by the firm Henein Hutchison Robitaille SRL/SENCRL, mandated by Hockey Canada, had been presented to an independent arbitration court concerning allegations concerning members of the 2018 national junior team.
“The court was responsible for holding an hearing to determine whether some members of the 2018 national junior team had broken the Hockey Canada Code of Conduct and, if necessary, what should be the sanctions imposed on these players,” it was announced in November 2023.
The results of this hearing had not been made public, but an appeal notice had been launched later, and an independent committee had been trained. On September 11, however, Hockey Canada announced that “the independent appeal committee informed Hockey Canada that it had approved a motion to adjourn the hearing relating to the call until the end of the criminal trial targeting five members of the 2018 national junior team, which all remain suspended from any participation in programs sanctioned by the organization.”
Unless the crown decides to call for the decision rendered on Thursday, the independent committee should therefore resume its work.
“No information was communicated to us by the appeal committee as to the possible date of the hearing, which is not surprising since the prosecution of the criminal is still underway,” said Hockey Canada in a declaration published shortly after Thursday’s verdict, adding that he could not make any more comments so as not to “compromise the call process”.
“Work to be done”
In his statement, Hockey Canada recalls having “implemented a series of important initiatives to transform the culture of hockey and security in sport”, but recognizes that there is still “work to do”.
“Although important progress has been made since 2022, there is still work to be done, and we will continue to be transparent and accountability towards the Canadian population through our efforts to arouse a systemic change within our national winter sport.”