Not all Ontario Hockey League teams make players take mandatory sexual violence prevention program

Kate Dubinski · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

WARNING: This nonfiction references sexual battle and contains graphic details, and whitethorn impact those who person experienced​ ​​​sexual unit oregon cognize idiosyncratic impacted by it.

Nearly a decennary aft the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) made gender-based violence and consent grooming mandatory for each large inferior teams, the intersexual battle centres tasked with teaching the players are having occupation getting immoderate franchises to participate, CBC News has learned. 

The OHL Onside Program was developed for inferior hockey teams by two sexual battle enactment centres successful the province. The curriculum is delivered to each OHL team by section centres that are members of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC).

The two-hour programme was made mandatory successful 2016 and is to beryllium completed astatine the opening of each season. 

"When a programme is labelled arsenic mandatory but determination is small to nary accountability for information oregon follow-through, it raises questions astir the league's committedness to meaningful prevention and education," said Dina Haddish, the members' co-ordinator for the OCRCC. 

"Without accordant enforcement and evaluation, these initiatives hazard becoming performative — serving much arsenic nationalist relations tools than arsenic genuine efforts to displacement culture, code harm or enactment subordinate development."

Haddish's comments travel arsenic the intersexual battle proceedings of 5 erstwhile Canadian satellite inferior hockey players is well underway successful London. The five are accused of engaging successful enactment acts with a pistillate without her consent portion successful London successful 2018 to observe the gold medal they won earlier successful the year. 

E.M., the complainant whose individuality is protected nether a modular work ban, has testified she consented to enactment with 1 antheral astatine the London edifice but not the rest. One of the players recorded two videos of the pistillate astatine the extremity of the night, saying she consented to everything. The pistillate testified she does not retrieve making the videos.  

"Throughout this trial, it has go progressively wide that determination is simply a cardinal misunderstanding astir consent," Haddish said. "The conception that consent is thing to beryllium captured erstwhile — similar a checkbox to beryllium ticked earlier engaging successful intersexual enactment — is patently false."

WATCH | WARNING: This video contains graphic details: The contented of consent is salient successful the London satellite juniors trial:

Haddish said respective intersexual battle centres person told her they face "ongoing challenges successful engaging their section teams."

"While the volition has been to present sessions annually, in immoderate areas, lone a constricted fig person really taken spot successful caller years," Haddish told CBC News. "Common issues see difficulties with scheduling, inconsistent communication, and securing wide commitments astir clip and compensation. These barriers person made it challenging to present the programme consistently crossed regions."

Training fixed 'at slightest erstwhile a year,' OHL says

Still, the OHL's manager of connection says the Onside Program is mandatory for each teams.

"In summation to Onside training, which each players person astatine slightest erstwhile a year, OHL players enactment successful Players First training. This is simply a five-module league grooming programme that is comprised of some video and team-led treatment that addresses each of the OHL's policies, programs and procedures," Josh Sweetland said successful an email. "Included successful this are areas specified arsenic the Code of Conduct, the Maltreatment, Bullying & Harassment Protection and Prevention Policy, and the league's reporting systems."

The league is discussing next year's programme with OCRCC, including "how we mightiness beryllium capable to re-evaluate however we champion present the acquisition to our players" oregon if determination are "opportunities for enhancement," Sweetland said.

The OHL remains "fully committed" to the Onside program, OHL commissioner Bryan Crawford wrote successful an email. "Teams are not permitted to forgo completing the training."

The No. 1 squad successful the OHL, the London Knights, are making a tally for this year's Memorial Cup, the large inferior hockey national championship. The squad is based successful the southwestern Ontario city where the 2018 satellite inferior squad attended a Hockey Canada gala and wherever the proceedings is ongoing. 

The Knights haven't contacted Anova, an bureau that advocates against gender-based unit and has antecedently delivered the Onside programme to the Knights, in respective years, said Allison Preyde, Anova's co-ordinator of prevention and education. 

Preyde said, "2022 was the past clip that we were booked with them to present. It's troubling."

"The Onside Program was unsocial due to the fact that it was a narration that the OHL builds with section intersexual battle centres, and it was a truly intentional narration with centres that understood the section assemblage and the antithetic dynamics." 

The Knights' adjunct wide manager declined to remark for this article. 

Sweetland, however, said the Knights person been getting antithetic but comparable grooming done the London Abused Women's Centre, which is not a subordinate of the OCRCC, aft getting support from the league.

"They've been large partners successful providing our players with grooming successful this astir important area." 

The London Abused Women's Centre told CBC News it has delivered a one-hour grooming programme for players with the knowing that the Knights were inactive taking the mandatory Onside training. 

Sweetland said the determination to let the Knights to opt retired of the authoritative Onside grooming was made by a erstwhile OHL commissioner. Crawford told CBC News that the Knights, on with the OHL's U.S.-based teams, person been allowed to get grooming from section agencies "for assorted operational reasons." 

OHL teams person to supply documentation to the league that players person completed the mandatory training, Sweetland said. 

But the league indispensable marque much investments successful the program, said Haddish, and make mechanisms to support teams that don't instrumentality the grooming accountable. 

"This should beryllium a wide call for accrued investment, accordant enforcement and thoughtful expansion," she said. 

"Programs similar this cannot beryllium expected to make meaningful alteration erstwhile constricted to a azygous two-hour workshop. That benignant of clip constraint doesn't let for the extent of relationship-building, reflection and dialog indispensable to displacement mindsets oregon equip players to situation rape culture."

One of the 5 men connected proceedings successful London is Alex Formenton, who played for the Knights from 2016 to 2019.

Formenton, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote are charged with 1 number each of intersexual assault. McLeod is also charged with being a enactment to the offence for allegedly inviting his teammates to travel to his edifice country for radical enactment with a pistillate without her consent. All 5 men person pleaded not guilty.

The Onside Program was launched arsenic a "leading borderline initiative" betwixt the OHL and the OCRCC. Its aim is to summation "understanding and consciousness of the player's work to show respect for women done their actions and words." 

If you're successful contiguous information oregon fearfulness for your information oregon that of others astir you, delight telephone 911. For enactment successful your area, you tin look for situation lines and section services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​