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The National Hockey League tapped a prominent American labour and employment lawyer who has been recognized as one of the U.S.’s “trailblazers” in crisis management to lead its investigation into the sexual assault scandal embroiling Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team – a probe that has remained shrouded in secrecy since its launch more than a year-and-a-half ago.
Camille Olson, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP in Chicago, was hired by the league in the summer of 2022 to investigate claims that members of the 2018 world junior team sexually assaulted a woman, identified in court documents as E.M., in a London, Ont., hotel. This week, five of those players – Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Carter Hart, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton – were charged with sexual assault in connection with the June 19, 2018 incident.
All five, who are current or former NHL players, have denied wrongdoing. Although they hadn’t started their NHL careers at the time of the alleged attack, they had all been drafted by NHL teams.
They are scheduled to appear in court Monday on sexual-assault charges. A charging document filed in London this week shows that the five players are each charged with one count of sexual assault in connection with the alleged attack. Mr. McLeod also faces a second charge of sexual assault for “being a party to the offence,” the document says.
Read more:
- Wendel Clark confident NHL All Star game won’t be overshadowed by sexual-assault investigations
- All-star weekend begins in Toronto but focus remains on five players facing sexual-assault charges
- Opinion: It’s time for hockey parents to have The Talk – and for systemic change, too
Camille Olson at the America's Newspapers Senior Leadership Conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2021.CHUCK BIGGER/Handout
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Canada’s new national security council has met only four times since July
A special national-security cabinet committee set up by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau amid a growing controversy over foreign interference has met only a handful of times as critics accuse the government of not taking seriously threats posed by China and other rival states.
In the months before Trudeau bowed to opposition demands to call a public inquiry into foreign inquiry in September, he set up a National Security Council in July to “address issues of pressing concern to Canada’s domestic and international security.” The committee of senior ministers, chaired by the Prime Minister, has met only four times, two sources say.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources who were not authorized to discuss the matter.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks out the west doors of West block to greet Zuzana Caputova, President of the Slovak Republic on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Jan. 30, 2024.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
B.C.’s ‘safer supply’ program ethically justified despite potential harm to public, analysis finds
A review by British Columbia’s public health officer has concluded the province’s program of distributing safer alternatives to street drugs is ethically defensible, although it acknowledges there is not a good system of tracking whether those drugs fall into the hands of people who wouldn’t ordinarily use them.
It puts a spotlight on the most hotly debated aspect of the intervention: While a growing body of evidence shows that pharmaceutical alternatives reduce harms for those at high risk of overdose or death, potential unintended consequences – such as drugs from the program falling into the hands of young people – remain a significant concern. The analysis urged better, regular monitoring.
A sign reading “Safe Supply Now” is seen at a gathering outside the Provincial Court of British Columbia to support the Drug User Liberation Front in Vancouver, B.C., Jan. 16, 2024.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
Indigo’s controlling shareholder plans to take the company private
The controlling shareholder of Indigo Books & Music Inc. is considering taking the company private, after a proposal from its largest shareholder. The news follows a tumultuous year that included a debilitating cyberattack, the departures of board members and senior executives, and mounting financial losses.
The offer comes from Onex founder and chairman Gerry Schwartz, Indigo’s controlling shareholder and member of the company’s board. Schwartz’s personal holding companies, Trilogy Retail Holdings Inc. and Trilogy Investments LP, announced on Thursday that they had made a non-binding privatization proposal to acquire all of Indigo’s common shares they do not already own, for $2.25 in cash per share.
An Indigo bookstore is seen Nov. 4, 2020, in Laval, Que.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
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Also on our radar
Canada may impose sanctions on Israeli settlers in West Bank: Canada may impose sanctions on some Jewish setters in the West Bank and is renewing calls for a two-state solution as the devastating Israel-Hamas war enters its third month, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said after she arrived in Ukraine on Friday. Joly is in Kyiv to launch an effort to repatriate children who were abducted by Russian forces and to discuss long-term security arrangements for a postwar Ukraine.
Allied Properties REIT slumps to 2009 level on muted outlook and $510-million writedown: A sizable writedown coupled with a soft earnings outlook sent units of Allied Properties REIT, a once-beloved office landlord, back to 2009 prices as investors debate the office sector’s future amid higher interest rates and white-collar workers’ desire to continue working from home.
Liberal government proposes delaying expansion of assisted dying eligibility until 2027: The Liberal government is seeking to delay access to medical assistance in dying for individuals whose sole underlying condition is mental illness until after the next election, introducing legislation on Thursday that would amount to a three-year pause.
Alberta Premier defends transgender policies as way to protect children from ‘adult decisions’: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, facing widespread condemnation for her plan to roll back access to medical treatment for transgender youth, argued on Thursday that her government’s proposal would protect children from making mistakes they may regret as adults.
Ottawa declassifies more details from Rodal report on Nazi war criminals in Canada: Ottawa is declassifying more sections from a report on Nazi war criminals in Canada, providing fresh details on former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s opposition to prosecuting or deporting suspected Nazi war criminals who made their way into the country, including the words he used behind the scenes to his colleagues in government.
Ontario to include nuclear power projects in its green bonds: Ontario has rewritten the rules for its multibillion-dollar green bond program and will now for the first time be able to use the proceeds for nuclear-power projects, the latest in a series of pro-nuclear moves made by the Progressive Conservative government.
Canadian-owned mine, seized by Russian mercenaries in Africa, is helping fund the war in Ukraine: A Canadian-owned gold mine in central Africa has emerged as a key source of financing for Russia’s global military operations, leaving its owners fighting for compensation.
Morning markets
Markets await U.S. jobs data: China shares fell to new five-year lows on Friday, while bumper earnings at Amazon and Meta helped buoy world stocks ahead of key U.S. jobs data later this morning. Around 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.42 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were up 0.79 per cent and 0.60 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 0.41 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.21 per cent. New York futures were mostly positive. The Canadian dollar was higher at 74.78 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
The arrest of Indigenous journalist Brandi Morin chills press freedom in Canada yet again
“There are several serious issues concerning the arrest of Brandi Morin, but perhaps the grossest is the dangerous precedent of journalists being muzzled or threatened for telling the story of the lived experience of Indigenous Peoples.” – Tanya Talaga
No, for sure, I believe Justin Trudeau is the right leader for the Liberals
“The Liberals need a fighter like Mr. Trudeau – someone who would start a battle out of nowhere with two U.S. media giants. Though the government lost to Meta and settled with Google after making a number of concessions, the important thing is that we all had fun.” – Robyn Urback
Today’s editorial cartoon
Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
Spending time alone is healthy, just don’t overdo it
While there are undeniable positives to spending time alone, experts say too much loneliness can damage not only emotional well-being, but also physical health. Maryam Saddiqi reports the line between solitude and isolation is a fine one, and knowing how to tread it without negative effects takes awareness.
Moment in time: Feb. 2, 1901
Funeral of Queen Victoria
The funeral of Queen Victoria, 1901.Print Collector/Getty Images
She outlasted a husband, three children and a century, but at 81, she couldn’t outlast old age. After 63 years on the throne, it wasn’t a big surprise when Queen Victoria died. Certainly, she had been expecting it, having meticulously planned all her funeral arrangements. Although she died on the Isle of Wight on Jan. 22, the funeral wasn’t until this day in 1901. In her coffin, she wore a white dress with a wedding veil and beside her was a plaster hand cast of her husband, Prince Albert. She was not embalmed. Victoria, as ceremonial head of the British armed forces, received a full military funeral – with a white colour scheme, not black. In London, millions watched on a rainy Saturday for a glimpse of the white-satin-draped casket as it made its way from the docks to train stations and thence to Windsor. The state funeral was at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The solemn service featured, among royal rituals, a sermon, the reading of Psalm 15 and the Lord’s Prayer (in Latin) as well as Victoria’s favourite hymns. She was interred beside her beloved Albert in the royal mausoleum at the grounds of Frogmore House at the Windsor estate. Philip King.
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