Canadian Heritage committee  Again, as I've said, I've seen quite a few coaches, officials and players who just get moved around to different jurisdictions. We need to ensure that there is a database and a process, something as simple as a reference check. We also need something that puts the children, the players and athletes first, and not the organizations.

Canadian Heritage committee  Not at all. Again, we go back to their trying to distance themselves from liability. How do you do that? You make sure that you have funds available to pay off whatever needs to happen. For me, though, it wasn't necessarily just that there was a slush fund that was set aside. It was just the pattern of silencing and how they felt that paying somebody off and going through this process and not dealing with the actual perpetrators....

Canadian Heritage committee  I think there's also, I mentioned, “unqualified right” to participate in sport. It's across the board. It's not just coaches. It's officials. It's staff. It's physiotherapists. It's anyone who is involved in the process. They almost treat it as if there is that right that they should be able to participate.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'll start with your last question. Yes and no. I don't know enough about the people who are currently involved, but I know that they're not listening. I know they are not reaching out and speaking to people like me to understand what has happened and what they need to do to improve, and there are a lot of lovely words they're saying, but I haven't seen any action yet.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'll try to remember all of those things. First of all, going back to your question of the need to be trauma-informed in this process and having lawyers involved, I think that when you're going through the investigation process and you have had trauma, there's an understanding that the brain experiences something very different.

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely. It needs to be something that's accessible to all. Again, I know from my husband working in hockey that there are many cases or incidents that have happened where the coach or staff member is just moved from province to province and can continue to be that harmful person, because they are only suspended from being in that particular province and not across the board.

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely: I have read every article and every story that's come out and I've watched every person come before this committee. Every single one of them has the same theme coming across the board on how they've been treated, how the system has treated them and the silencing and the additional harm and trauma that have been caused by going through any kind of complaints process with these systems as well.

Canadian Heritage committee  One party has direct access to legal advice and legal counsel, either through a criminal system or through this process itself, and it's never the victim. There were legal complexities that I found throughout the process. Even just the policies themselves leave so much room for interpretation.

Canadian Heritage committee  I would say that even as adults, not just children, there is no trauma-informed process here either, so it's not just about the legal side, but also about having someone that's coming from it with understanding that the person you're dealing with has gone through trauma. There's no capacity there for the investigator or the third parties that are involved to treat them.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, that's correct.

Canadian Heritage committee  It should be “must”. They “must” not be used. Unfortunately, when you have an NDA or anything that prevents anyone from speaking, you have no idea if there are other harms that the person has caused. You have no idea if you can protect other people from those harms. It's “must”.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you. My name is Jessica. I'm an advocate for sexual assault survivors. I'm certified in trauma-informed practice and I hold a first-class honours degree in law. This is the first time I've advocated for myself. My decision to be here today was not taken lightly. I made a choice between reaching a resolution with Hockey Canada via the ITP or using My Voice to stand beside Canadian athletes to plead with the government to help victims.