Hockey Canada and other sports organizations are cracking down on non-disclosure agreements across the country amid sexual assault scandals, including one that has led to multi-million payouts. There are growing calls to legalize to keep details about incidents confidential.
Confidentiality agreements can prohibit sexual assault complainants from speaking publicly about their allegations in exchange for settlement.
Windsor University Law Professor Julie McFarlane has suggested that states should draft legislation to prevent the abuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). supported She now advocates for the federal government to do the same.
"The story of Hockey Canada shows that non-disclosure agreements are pervasive and ubiquitous. This just pushes everything back under the rug again," says McFarlane. 130} said. A campaign called "Can't Buy My Silence".
"The perpetrators have not been identified and the consequences are unknown. This allows them to continue to behave in the same way."
Hockey Canada Before casting a new spotlight on the issue of, P.E.I. included. NDA would allow P.E.I. if complainant so desired.
Manitoba and Nova Scotia introduced similar bills this year. Senator Marilou McFedran said he also plans to introduce federal legislation to the Senate next month .
In a move to regulate NDAs, the federal labor minister's office said it was engaging with stakeholders, but now plans to change the law.
Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge opposed the NDA and said the review on funding to sports organizations would consider the issue.
See | Woman at center of hockey Canadian lawsuit breaks silence
From the Globe and Mail sharing details about the case where the plaintiff in the sexual assault lawsuit against Hockey Canada spoke with Robin Doolittle. Doolittle said the woman had fully cooperated with the investigation, although Hockey Canada initially said she did not cooperate with the investigation.
Hockey Canada is the latest organization to be accused of using her NDA to settle sexual assault allegations.
The hockey organization recently released a woman from a non-disclosure agreement.
A woman filed a $3.5 million lawsuit in April against eight Canadian Hockey League members, including members of the World Juniors in 2018. 159} A team that claims to have been sexually assaulted by a player.
As part of the settlement, the woman signed a contract barring her from speaking about the allegations. But the agreement allowed her to communicate her desire not to participate in the public debate, attorney Rob Tullack told CBC News on Tuesday.
}" An instinctive outright ban will ultimately hurt some survivors." However, he feared that a blanket ban on the NDA could limit the options of some victims during negotiations.
"I think an instinctive, outright ban on the NDA will ultimately hurt some survivors," Talach told CBC News. "Some survivors may get nothing because there is nothing to replace."
Talach has represented sexual abuse allegations for nearly two decades. have said they typically do not negotiate NDAs. It can protect defendants from "flashy headlines," he says.
He also said that legally the NDA cannot prevent a complainant from consulting the police or seeking medical attention.
See | Hockey Canada reverses her NDA with complainant in alleged sexual assault lawsuit.
Hockey Canada terminated a nondisclosure agreement with a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of players in 2018. In some cases, we seek to ban NDAs altogether.
Talach wants a superior court judge to oversee the granting of his NDA in exceptional cases.
"If the parties cannot convince the judge that the NDA is fair and mutually agreed, it will not happen," he said.
NDA could mean bigger settlement, lawyer says
Howard Levitt, a Toronto-based attorney, has have negotiated hundreds of NDAs, but say employers and companies are unlikely to offer an adequate solution. settlements without them.
"I can often get a woman in her $1 million or more settlement," Levitt said. "If it weren't for the NDA, he would have received less than 1 in 10 minutes."
Levitt said companies pay money to protect their reputations. It is said that there is According to Mr. Levitt, if a complainant receives a large settlement, he or she may go out and "defame" or "talk badly about his or her experience" to "get the price paid." We are not getting the value we deserve.”
Lynne Lund, P.E.I.'s Green MLA, states that silence exacerbates sexual misconduct and that "predators hide in plain sight."
"If an organization has the ability to silence people and make fun of them, they will always choose to protect their reputation over protecting the general public," said Lund.
She introduced a bill restricting the use of her NDA in her state, which party in which state is currently politically House also offers to help draft a similar draft. invoice.
"For those who signed her NDAs in the past, it is a great comfort to know that it will not happen to people in the future," she said. rice field. "All states need to address this issue. Hockey Canada has done a really good job of pointing that out to me."
The woman who signed the NDA said it Calling it "unethical, immoral"
A B.C. woman signed a non-disclosure agreement two years ago stating it was "unethical, immoral and damaging."
She reported being repeatedly sexually harassed at her workplace by her supervisor. CBC News agreed to keep her name private over her concerns about potential legal repercussions.
The woman called for an apology and action against her. said it had reported the allegations of But instead, she said the University of BC, where she worked, offered her a settlement that allowed her boss to keep her job, but she decided to end her retirement. I was forced.
Her lawyers told her she had no choice but to sign an NDA if a settlement was desired, she said. She had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate an exception, she said. 'What shall I do?'" she recalled asking her employer. ``Can I tell him my story? New measures will be reviewed within her five years.
A ban on NDAs poses a judicial risk because it is the responsibility of the state and requires further legal analysis, according to senior government sources with knowledge of the file. Preliminary legal analysis indicates that
A review of federally funded sports organizations will be completed with new changes effective by April 2023.