Jessica Gaertner, who filed a rape charge against a referee through Hockey Canada, is one of many calling for reform in how abuse is managed by sports organizations
On 30 December 2022, a match official took to the ice for a hockey match in the British Columbia Hockey League. The match was overseen by BC Hockey, the provincial governing body for the sport. It wasn’t the only hockey game this particular official was on the ice for that week. There was another on 3 January 2023, and again on 6 January. On 7 January he took charge of a high school game in the local area.
Business as usual. What was unusual was that the official was under investigation by Hockey Canada’s investigatory “independent third party” (ITP) following a rape allegation and was under an interim suspension that should have prevented him from being anywhere near the ice.
