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Quebec Premier Francois Legault demands explanation from QMJHL on abuse, hazing
"It's disgusting. It's time the Quebec Major Junior League explained themselves."
In the wake of a court decision earlier this month on an ongoing suit against the Canadian Hockey League, including its leagues and its teams, Quebec Premier Francois Legault is demanding accountability.
The sentiment stems from a Feb. 3 ruling, in which Superior Court Justice Paul Perell laid out the "horrific and despicable and unquestionably criminal acts" that took place across all three Canadian Major Junior leagues, including the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"It's disgusting," Legault said Tuesday. "It's time the Quebec Major Junior League explained themselves."
Quebec’s premier added the hazing endured by the players was “very serious,” as Justice Perell outlined a list of horrific acts that had been presented as evidence. Among others, these included drugging, sexual assault, and even rape, while victims also ranged in age to as young as 15 years old.
In addition to Legault’s outrage, Quebec’s opposition party has asked that the directors of the QMJHL stand before a legislature committee. The Quebec Solidaire party is demanding that those in positions of power with the league be held responsible for their apparent complacency and that the league’s culture of “harassment, aggression, and domination," needs to be addressed.
The QMJHL, meanwhile, neglected to speak out on the matter when asked for comment. As noted by The Canadian Press, however, QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau has told Radio-Canada that the league holds a “zero-tolerance” policy towards abusive behaviour, while Courteau has previously stated he was unaware of any such acts.
"We have never been made aware of initiations that went wrong," Courteau said.
As for the court ruling in question, Justice Perell denied the three former players — Daniel Carcillo, Garrett Taylor, and Stephen Quirk — their request to certify a class-action lawsuit.
The judge outlined that the group had failed to present a viable plan to litigate the case given that “it is not conceivable that such a plan could be fashioned to deal in one class action with the evil that has persisted for half a century in amateur hockey."
As for the suit itself, the litigation dates back to late 2020, when Carcillo alongside a group of former CHL players sued the league and its teams. According to court files, the plantiffs argue the leagues and its teams “acted in concert in perpetuating a toxic system which condones violent, discriminatory, racist, sexualized, and homophobic conduct, including physical and sexual assault.”
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