Solidarity MP Vincent Marissal is calling for the National Assembly to convene the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ) to shed light on the criminal acts being committed in the midst of junior hockey.
• Also read: Outraged by dirty gestures
Mr Marissal said he was “deeply disturbed” to learn of the “inhumane” treatment of young ice hockey players, even though adults were aware.
“It’s disgusting, there’s no other word for it. Too many people have turned a blind eye to the toxic culture in hockey for too long, it’s time to take action to end it,” he said in a Tuesday news release.
“As elected officials, we must ensure that our young people can play their sport in a safe and fulfilling environment where everyone has their place. Those who have tolerated these repulsive gestures must be held accountable, it is urgent,” added the united MP.
Mr. Marissal therefore sent a letter to the Culture and Education Committee to convene the QMJHL into a parliamentary committee. He hopes this exercise will help find a way to “protect young people” and curb “intimidation” in the hockey world.
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“Overly annoying”
In a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Marc Tanguay, expressed that he found it “extremely disturbing” to learn how far these initiations could go, calling them “acts of barbarism”. .
“Quebec needs to find a way to monitor, and it will have our cooperation (…). I think it takes a culture change, a behavior change,” he said.
Mr. Tanguay did not say he was closed to financial sanctions against specific organizations. “For an organization that isn’t vigilant enough, this could be leverage for Quebec,” he said.
Increase attention
“There’s a lot that needs to be cleaned up in junior hockey,” said Parti Québécois chairman Paul St-Pierre Plamondon clearly unacceptably on Tuesday.
Nonetheless, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon argued that one should not necessarily ban all forms of initiation, but simply require organizations to “publicly” establish the goals of these initiations and the parameters within which they can take place.