Following sexual assault allegations that have rocked Hockey Canada, the QMJHL today announced an action plan that will provide clear and strict sanctions in cases of sexual misconduct.
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This plan is divided into two pillars: prevention and intervention. Players and team members will be able to participate in additional consent workshops and webinars throughout the season.
In addition, there are now tougher penalties for charges of all kinds, including an indefinite ban on reporting to the police or penalties for allegations in the media.
The filing of this new plan by the QMJHL comes as an independent inquiry is ongoing by former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell, who is expected to deliver a report in November.
There is also the case of players Nicolas Daigle and Massimo Siciliano, who are still awaiting further trials after being criminally accused of sexually assaulting a minor in the summer of 2021.
A situation that has accelerated the process of drawing up an action plan, confirmed today by the league’s commissioner, Gilles Courteau.
Discreet against Hockey Canada
The latter did not want to comment too much on Hockey Canada’s files due to the ongoing investigation, but nevertheless let his vision of Hockey Canada’s management of the alleged cases shine through.
“If we had acted differently as managers [de Hockey Canada] ? Probably because we’ve had a way of doing things for a few years now. Without going into the details of 2018, Hockey Canada is clear that they need to change their approach in a number of ways,” he said, vowing that the league did not have a reserve fund to settle sexual assault cases out of court like hockey does Canada was the case.
Recall that in the case of Daigle and Siciliano, they were suspended indefinitely two days after the alleged victim had filed charges.
In Daigle’s case, he had attempted to circumvent his suspension by joining a pro league in Ukraine, but the QMJHL had not approved his release due to the suspension burdening him.