Hockey NL says it's a leader in safeguarding against sexual offenders as coaches, volunteers
Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador insists it has multiple safeguards in place to prevent potential sexual abusers from becoming a coach or volunteer with the organization.
"Every coach and volunteer who is associated with youth hockey in our province would have to go through a screening process," says Hockey NL's executive director Craig Tulk.
CBC News broke the story this week that a lawsuit is in the works against the Avalon Minor Hockey Association, according to court documents. A man alleges he was sexually abused as a boy by a coach in the mid-1980s while playing in an out-of-province tournament.
That association falls under the jurisdiction of Hockey NL, but Tulk said he can't comment given the matter is headed for court.
'Due diligence'
Tulk said checks and balances have come a long way in the past 30 years.
"In 2004, Hockey NL's board of directors took the lead in targeting the safety of all of our young players. We established a comprehensive screening policy for our members," he said.
"We have a three-person committee, a provincial committee, that screens every applicant. We have over 2500 coaches in our province."
Hockey NL's policy manual states: "Applicants who have committed certain offences will not be accepted for a direct service position with vulnerable clients. These offences may include but are not limited to: sexual assault, current prohibitions forbidding contact with children, indictable criminal offences for child abuse; any offence of a sexual nature involving children including pornography."
Anyone looking to be involved with the more than 50 minor hockey associations in the province has to be willing to undergo an extensive background check — including a criminal records search and a vulnerable persons search, according to Tulk.
The vulnerable persons search allows Hockey NL to request the RNC or RCMP to check to see if someone has a sexual offense in their past, but has received a pardon.
"We wouldn't have anybody with that kind of history," said Tulk.
Going further, said Tulk, is the "strict" 10-step process associations within Hockey NL are tasked with following when recruiting and appointing volunteers.
Those steps include interviewing the person to make sure they meet the association's requirements, getting references, and doing a child abuse registry check.
Tulk said the multiple safeguards Hockey NL has in place should put parents at ease.
"I'm pretty sure our members are confident in our due diligence. We all need to work together to protect our children," he said.
