DROPPING THE GLOVES — Parliamentarians will today move forward on their own investigation of a scandal that’s rattling the power structure of Canadian hockey. Sexual assault accusations and the alleged use of reserves to settle such allegations have for months been hammering Hockey Canada, the national body that oversees a sport woven into the country’s cultural fabric. Key leaders from Canada’s junior hockey community and the federal minister responsible for sport will testify (read: get grilled) by parliamentarians over the next two days. The first witness will be in the House of Commons heritage committee’s spotlight at 11 a.m. ET. The details: Hockey’s governing body has been under fire since news spread that it had settled a C$3.55 million lawsuit in May. The woman who launched the suit alleged that eight players sexually assaulted her following Hockey Canada fundraising gala in London, Ontario in 2018. The hockey players have not been named publicly. Another bombshell: More accusations came to light Friday. Hockey Canada revealed it had learned of another alleged group sexual assault , this time involving members of the 2002-03 national junior team in Halifax. Police in London announced later Friday that they are reopening their investigation into the 2018 allegations, while Halifax police said they would probe the 2003 accusations. The goal: Liberal MP HEDY FRY, who chairs the committee, spoke with CityNews’ CORMAC MAC SWEENEY recently about the objective of this week’s hearings. “(It) is not to find out who did what, allegedly, to whom — who the perpetrators are, who the victim is,” Fry told CityNews in an interview before the 2003 allegations surfaced. “We want to find out how Hockey Canada in 2018 handled this issue. What are the steps they took? What (are) the conversations they had?” Fry noted that MPs wanted another crack at Hockey Canada witnesses who testified before them about the issue last month. “We were not happy with our first answers from them,” she said. Today’s lineup: The committee will hear today from DANIELLE ROBITAILLE, a partner with Henein Hutchison. Hockey Canada hired the prominent law firm in 2018 to conduct a third-party probe of the allegations against members of the 2018 men’s junior hockey team. MPs will later hear from Deputy Heritage Minister ISABELLE MONDOU and MICHEL RUEST, a senior director with the Sport Canada branch inside the department, at 12 p.m. Mondou and Ruest will stay on the hot seat at 1 p.m. when they will be joined by Sport Minister PASCALE ST-ONGE and EMMANUELLE SAJOUS, an assistant deputy heritage minister. Tomorrow’s agenda: The committee will hear Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. from several Hockey Canada officials, including president SCOTT SMITH and retired CEO TOM RENNEY. Smith and Renney both appeared at a June 20 hearing before the same committee. The witness list also includes Canadian Hockey League President DAN MACKENZIE and the commissioners of Canada’s three major junior hockey leagues — GILLES COURTEAU of the Ligue de Hockey Junior Majeur du Québec, DAVID BRANCH of the Ontario Hockey League and RON ROBISON of the Western Hockey League. BARRY LORENZETTI , founder and head of the BFL Canada insurance company, will be behind the microphone at 2 p.m. ‘Toxic’ culture: On Monday, Hockey Canada released an action plan that it promised will address “toxic” behaviors on and off the ice . The plan will include the creation of a “tracking and reporting system for all complaints of maltreatment, abuse or harassment.” Hockey Canada promised the results of the system will be published publicly every year as a way to hold the organization accountable. HACKED — The House of Commons ethics committee is meeting today following a request by four members to study “device investigation tools used by the RCMP.” Last month, POLITICO reported that the national police force uses spyware to hack mobile devices. The RCMP can use malware to collect a broad range of data, including text messages, emails, photos, videos and financial records. The police can also remotely turn on a device’s camera and microphone. The RCMP says it only uses such technology in the most serious cases, including national security and organized crime investigations. The force used spyware in 10 investigations between 2018 and 2020. — Unanswered questions: But the police agency has not been open about its ability to hack phones, and it didn’t consult the federal privacy commissioner before launching the program. — In response to questions from POLITICO, the RCMP wouldn’t say what companies provide the spyware it uses. The police force would not confirm or deny whether it uses technology from Israeli firm NSO Group, whose Pegasus spyware was the subject of a major media investigation last year, which revealed it had been used to hack smartphones belonging to journalists and human rights activists. OPEN WIDE — Health Canada is looking for industry feedback about how to best administer a national dental care plan, suggesting the federal government may opt to deliver the program itself. The Liberals have promised to provide dental care to the estimated 7 to 9 million Canadians who currently don’t have coverage due to the cost. The pledge is a pillar of the Liberal government’s deal with the NDP to guarantee their support until 2025. — The details: The Liberals have promised to provide coverage this year for children under 12 years, with the program expanding to cover those under 18 years, seniors and people with disabilities in 2023, and everyone else by 2025. Families with an income under C$90,000 will be eligible. Ottawa has budgeted C$5.3 billion over five years for the program. — Outstanding questions: But the government has not yet said what model the dental care program will take — for example, whether it will be administered by the provinces, by Ottawa or by a private company. A request for information released Monday by Health Canada says Ottawa is looking for advice about the “viability and timing of a federal direct delivery,” suggesting the government could opt for a standalone federal program. — The ask: Ottawa is looking for insurance companies to provide information about whether they could design a plan for the government, including whether they could have it up and running in six months. Health Canada is also looking to know what services are common to basic dental plans, how to coordinate benefits with other insurance plans, and whether Ottawa would be better to procure “an existing ‘off-the-shelf’ insurance plan” from a private company. The government is looking for industry feedback by Aug. 22.
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