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Ottawa was told by Hockey Canada in 2018 about sexual-assault allegations involving members of that year’s Canadian world junior team but didn’t follow up with the organization about the complaint for four years, according to federal officials.
Until this past spring, Sport Canada had thought a police investigation into the alleged assault in London, Ont., was continuing, according to Isabelle Mondou, deputy minister for the Department of Canadian Heritage, which oversees Sport Canada. She said it wasn’t until May – when Hockey Canada reached out to inform Sport Canada that the allegations were about to become public – that the government realized the London Police Service had concluded its probe, without charges, in early 2019.
The revelation emerged Tuesday during high-profile, public testimony before the Canadian Heritage parliamentary committee, which is examining Hockey Canada’s handling of sexual-assault allegations. While the conduct of the national governing body for hockey had been the focal point of hearings that took place in June, it was Ottawa that was under a microscope Tuesday.
Read more:
- Ottawa was not aware Hockey Canada fund was used to settle sexual-assault claims
- Sheldon Kennedy calls for resignation of Hockey Canada leaders
- The Editorial Board: Would hockey, and Canada, be better without Hockey Canada?
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Pope Francis calls on faithful to be ‘weavers of hope’ at stadium mass in Edmonton
The mood at Tuesday’s mass was markedly different from what it had been at the community of Maskwacis the previous day, where the Pope delivered a historic apology for the abuse and mistreatment of Indigenous children at Catholic-run residential schools.
The Edmonton event was the pontiff’s first appearance open to the broader public, and drew an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people, who began filing into the outdoor stadium two or three hours before the Pope was to arrive.
More:
- At Lac Ste. Anne, Pope Francis tells crowd beating drums ‘echo the beating of so many hearts’
- Pope Francis talked about a ‘serious investigation’ during his apology. What could it involve?
- Chief Littlechild’s headdress gift to Pope Francis carries heavy significance
- Pope Francis’s apology failed to acknowledge the Church’s full role in residential schools, Murray Sinclair says
- Wrap-up: Pope’s visit to Canada: Here’s what happened on July 26
- Annotation: Pope Francis begs forgiveness for abuses at residential schools: A close look at the papal apology
RCMP commander says ‘any interference’ in N.S. mass shooting investigation ‘unacceptable’
A senior RCMP commander who accused the country’s top Mountie of political interference in the Nova Scotia mass shooting investigation told an inquiry on Tuesday it was “unacceptable” that anyone might try to use the tragedy to advance the federal government’s gun control agenda.
Chief Superintendent Darren Campbell, who oversaw the investigation into the mass shooting that killed 22 people in April, 2020, set off a political firestorm in June when the Mass Casualty Commission released his notes from a meeting in which he said RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki reprimanded him for withholding details about the killer’s guns.
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Also on our radar
Homeless community struggles to process shootings in Langley, B.C.: At least some of the victims of a shooting rampage that killed two people and left two others injured were experiencing homelessness. The string of killings underscored the dangers faced by the community’s most vulnerable.
Powerful 7.1 earthquake strikes north Philippines, at least four killed: A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Philippine island of Luzon on Wednesday, badly damaging a hospital and buildings in a northern province and sending strong tremors through Manila.
Shopify cuts 10 per cent of staff as CEO Tobias Lutke apologizes for big bets on e-commerce, admits he ‘got this wrong’: Shopify Inc. has cut 10 per cent of its global staff as it deals with the slowing growth of e-commerce and its weakening financial results. The company is also considering further layoffs before the end of 2022.
Trump, Pence speeches put stark GOP divide on display: In his first return to Washington since Joe Biden’s inauguration, Donald Trump vigorously repeated the false election-fraud claims that sparked the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. In a speech not far away, Mike Pence implored the Republican Party to move on from Trump’s defeat.
Russia to pull out of the International Space Station: Russia will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost, the country’s new space chief said Tuesday amid high tensions between Moscow and the West over the fighting in Ukraine.
Morning markets
Global markets steady: Better-than-expected earnings from U.S. and European companies helped cut through the doom and gloom of recession woes on Wednesday as world stock markets rose. Around 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 grew 0.42 per cent. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX gained 0.39 per cent and 0.20 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei advanced 0.22 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 1.13 per cent. New York futures were moderately higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 77.78 U.S. cents.
What everyone’s talking about
“Pandemic aside, there is a simple reason for the stressed state of health care: an unwillingness on all sides to make hard decisions.” - John Ibbitson
“These specific allegations [about Hockey Canada] may have remained largely unknown and unreported until recently, but the toxic locker-room culture – an incubator for abusive behaviour and misogyny – was there for all who wanted to look.” - Robyn Urback
Today’s editorial cartoon
Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
Living better
The benefits of awakening your artistic side in retirement
More seniors are revisiting their love for art in their retirement years as a way to express themselves and pass the time. The good news for retirees is that you don’t need an artistic background to take up drawing, painting or other art forms.
Kathy Kerr outlines the benefits of participating in a creative activity during retirement.
Moment in time: July 27, 1866
First successful transatlantic telegraph cable is completed
Landing of the Atlantic Cable of 1866 at Heart's Content, N.L., July 27, 1866 [watercolour drawing] by Robert Dudley (active 1858-1898).Library and Archives Canada
After Samuel Morse completed the United States’ first commercial telegraph, utilizing his eponymous code for transmitting messages, in 1844, the next goal was to create a telegraph line connecting the Old World to the New. It would not be easy. In 1857, two ships laid hundreds of miles of cable across the ocean floor but part of the cable broke off during the process and the attempt was abandoned. In 1858, a cable was laid that allowed Queen Victoria to send U.S. President James Buchanan a message congratulating him on the success of the project, but the cable stopped working a few weeks later. Finally, in 1866, the Atlantic Telegraph Company installed a cable from Foilhummerum Bay, Ireland to the village of Heart’s Content, N.L., that worked reliably. The project was completed on this day in 1866, when Great Eastern, a 693-foot-long ship, dropped anchor on the East Coast of Canada. The slogan “From two weeks to two minutes!” was coined to celebrate the new speed in sending messages compared to transporting them via ships. We have always loved speed, no matter how long it might take to achieve. Dave McGinn
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Editor’s note: An earlier version of this newsletter misidentified the inventor of the first commercial telegraph cable. It is Samuel Morse.
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