Legault has concerns regarding QMJHL commissioner, not asking for resignation
Posted March 3, 2023 4:10 pm.
François Legault is questioning his trust in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s (QMJHL) commissioner Gilles Courteau, despite not calling for his resignation as the opposition is doing.
When asked at a press conference whether he still had trust in Courteau, the Premier instead implied Friday that he had a “concern”.
The QMJHL leader is currently in turmoil due to allegations of sexual misconduct in his league. On top of that, the opposition is accusing him of perjuring himself in a parliamentary committee last week on this issue and is calling for his resignation.
Legault appears to be growing impatient, but also seems to want to give the 37-year-old commissioner, who is due to complete his term in 2024, another chance.
“The contradictory statements of Mr. Courteau are worrisome,” said Legault during an announcement in Notre-Dame-du-Portage on Friday morning concerning adaptation to climate change.
He asked him in thinly veiled words to recognize the problem of violent initiations in his league and address it.
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“We’re going to have to make sure that Mr. Courteau sees that there is a problem, among other things in the case of initiations, and takes strong action to stop these ways.”
He suggested that he would prefer to hear from him first in a parliamentary committee hearing, rather than call for his resignation like the Liberal Party and Québec solidaire.
The Premier did however point out another disagreement with the league’s boss. He recalled that his minister responsible for sports, Isabelle Charest, had to face Gilles Courteau in her campaign to stop hockey fights.
On Thursday, Charest had expressed the wish that the parliamentary commission that had heard Courteau last week reconvene. However, the CAQ representatives refused to extend the mandate of the commission last week.
Courteau was accused of having perjured himself on the same issue in a parliamentary commission last week. He said at the time that no cases reported in his league were similar to those described in an Ontario court ruling.
Stephen Quirk, the only QMJHL player involved in the class action suit filed before Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perrel, reported being subjected to humiliating and obscene treatments.
In a media scrum, Courteau indicated that there was no sexual connotation in Stephen Quirk’s testimony. However, the player did report having been sexually abused.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 3, 2023.
