The Canadian Hockey Federation has been in turmoil since revelations in the press in recent weeks.

She is suspected of having wanted to hide a gang rape committed by eight players in 2018. On Thursday, the sports institution announced that it would reopen its investigation into these accusations of gang rape brought against members of the national junior team.

All players must participate in this investigation, "conducted by an independent third party", or risk being banned from all Hockey Canada activities and programs.

The investigation will then be entrusted to an independent arbitration tribunal, responsible for determining the consequences, including “lifetime exclusion from Hockey Canada activities”.

"We hear your anger and disappointment," writes Hockey Canada, in an open letter to Canadians.

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"The culture of silence"

“We know that our response has been insufficient in relation to the actions of certain members of the 2018 National Junior Team, or even to put an end to the culture of toxic behavior in hockey,” recognizes the federation.

“We are sincerely sorry.

The federation also announced a series of measures, such as the establishment of an independent and confidential complaints mechanism or participation in mandatory training on sexual violence and consent.

A financial agreement was reached last spring between the federation and a young woman, now 24, who accuses a group of eight players of gang rape, including several members of the national junior team at the time, after a Hockey Canada Foundation gala in 2018. In the wake of these allegations, the federation's public funding was suspended by the government.

Hockey Canada officials also had to explain themselves to a parliamentary commission.

At the end of June, the Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, denounced an “extremely disturbing and worrying” management of the affair, considering that the federation perpetuates “the culture of silence”.

According to the alleged victim, several of the players implicated in this case have already played in the National Hockey League (NHL), the North American hockey championship, the most prestigious in the world.

The NHL has launched its own investigation.

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