Kennedy 'disturbed' Hockey Canada didn't require players take part in assault probe

Sheldon Kennedy tuned in as Hockey Canada executives faced question after pointed question.

Tom Renney and Scott Smith were getting grilled by parliamentarians in Ottawa about the organization's handling of an alleged sexual assault involving eight players and a subsequent out-of-court settlement.

A voice for victims following his own experience being abused by then-coach Graham James in junior hockey, Kennedy had a similar reaction when the sexual assault story involving former Chicago Blackhawks prospect Kyle Beach broke last fall as he watched the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage meeting unfold.

"An archaic response to a human issue," Kennedy said Tuesday in a phone interview with The Canadian Press. "There is an expectation that there's transparency when something like this happens.

"That's what's baffling Canadians."

Hockey Canada quietly settled the lawsuit last month after a woman, identified as "E.M." in court records, claimed she was sexually assaulted by members of the country's 2018 world junior hockey team in June of that year following a function in London, Ont. The woman, now 24, was seeking $3.55 million in damages from Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and the unnamed players.

Smith – Hockey Canada's president and COO, and poised to take over from the outgoing Renney as CEO on July 1 – testified in front of the House of Commons committee this week that members of the team in question were "strongly encouraged" to speak with third-party investigators hired by the sport's national body.

But it wasn't a requirement. That left legislators, and Kennedy, stunned.

"One thing that I was disturbed by was that there was no mandatory participation in the investigation by the players," the former