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The Hockey Canada sexual assault trial centers on allegations that five players from the 2018 Canadian World Junior hockey team—Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, and Cal Foote—sexually assaulted a woman in a London, Ontario hotel room following a Hockey Canada gala in June 2018. All five have pleaded not guilty. The allegations and subsequent handling of the case have led to widespread criticism of Hockey Canada. In 2022, it was revealed that the organization had used a "National Equity Fund," partially funded by player registration fees, to settle 21 sexual misconduct cases since 1989, totaling nearly C$9 million. In response to the scandal, Hockey Canada has implemented several reforms, including mandatory sexual violence and consent training for high-performance players, coaches, and staff, as well as the establishment of a new independent and confidential complaint mechanism.
In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Walinga welcomes Laura Robinson, Canadian sports journalist and author, to discuss the trial itself, the topics of abuse, consent, and power in sport, and the question of what changes are required to address sexual abuse and violence in sport. Laura has reported on sexual abuse, and racial and sexual discrimination in Canadian sports for decades. She is the author of the 1998 book "Crossing the Line: Sexual Assault in Canada’s National Sport" and was the first Canadian journalist to write about sexual abuse in sport.
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