Hockey Canada released a plan to deal with the “toxic” culture in hockey just a day before the second round of parliamentary hearings into how it handles sexual assault complaints..“We recognize that there is an urgent need to address the types of behaviours that are rightly causing Canadians to question aspects of our game,” said Scott Smith, president and chief executive officer of Hockey Canada. .“Culture change will not occur overnight, but with this Action Plan we are fully committed to making the meaningful changes necessary to ensure the safety, welfare, and well-being of everyone who participates in and enjoys the sport of hockey.”.The Action Plan involves “commitments in key areas of accountability, governance, independent sport safety checks, and standards, education, and training.” .A centralized tracking and reporting system for abuse complaints will be implemented by the end of September..High-performance players will have enhanced screening and anyone violating the code of conduct or refusing participation in an investigation could be banned for life from Hockey Canada..A third-party investigation into an alleged sexual assault by the 2018 Canadian world junior team members at a London event was reopened..Federal funding and multiple corporate sponsorships froze their funding to Hockey Canada after the 2018 alleged assault and settlement became public..On Friday, the 2003 Canadian world junior hockey team was accused of a group sex attack..READ MORE 2003 Canadian world junior hockey team accused of group sex attack.On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is expected to start the second round of parliamentary hearings.
