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Videos in hockey players’ trial highlight misconceptions about consent: law experts
As five former Canadian world junior hockey players await a ruling in their sexual assault trial, legal experts say videos shown in court of the complainant saying she was OK with what had happened highlight a broader misunderstanding of consent and sexual assault law in Canada.
Two cellphone videos in which the woman says she’s “OK with this” and that “it was all consensual” were presented as evidence during the trial of Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Callan Foote.
All five men have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault after an encounter in a London, Ont., hotel room in the early morning hours of June 19, 2018. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia is expected to deliver her ruling on Thursday in the case that saw consent emerge as a central issue.
Prosecutors have argued the complainant did not voluntarily agree to the sexual acts that took place, nor did the players take reasonable steps to confirm her consent. The Crown has dismissed the videos taken of the woman that night as “token lip service box checking,” arguing she felt she had no choice but to go along when a group of men she didn’t know started asking her to do things inside the hotel room.
Defence lawyers, meanwhile, repeatedly challenged the complainant’s credibility and reliability as a witness, arguing she was an active participant in the sexual activity and made up the allegations because she didn’t want to take responsibility for her choices that night.
Video statements such as the short clips shown in this trial aren’t necessarily evidence of consent, said University of Ottawa law professor Daphne Gilbert.
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“Legally speaking, they have very little relevance because consent has to be ongoing and contemporaneous with the sexual activity and you have to be consenting to every single thing that is happening to you,” said Gilbert, who researches sexual violence and abuse in Canadian sports.
“There’s no such thing as advance consent. And there’s no thing as after-the-fact consent, either. So just because you say, ‘Yeah, it was all consensual’ doesn’t mean that makes it so.”
Lisa Dufraimont, a law professor at York University, said such videos could also be seen as hearsay because they don’t contain statements made under oath in court.
“If the complainant got on the stand at the trial and testified that they consented at the time, that would be evidence that they consented at the time,” said Dufraimont, whose research focuses on evidence issues in sexual assault cases.
But she said the videos could be used for other legal arguments, including those that may rely on a description of how a defendant or complainant was acting at the time.
“It may be that if the video is taken close in time to the alleged sexual assault, that the video shows something about the person’s level of intoxication or their emotional state, which may or may not be consistent with what they later reported their emotional state was at the time,” said Dufraimont.
During the trial, the Crown argued that the videos shown in court weren’t proof that the complainant voluntarily agreed to what had taken place.
“The recording of that video is not getting her consent to anything. Everything’s already happened,” prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham said about the video in which the woman said it was “all consensual,” adding that consent must be communicated for each specific act at the time it takes place.
Only one of the accused, Hart, took the stand in his own defence, and court heard or watched interviews three of the others — McLeod, Formenton and Dube — gave police in 2018. People accused of crimes are not required to testify, nor is the defence required to call any evidence, as it is up to the Crown to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In McLeod’s 2018 interview with police, he told a detective that he recorded one of the videos because he was “just kind of worried something like this might happen.”
On the stand, Hart testified that consent videos aren’t unusual for professional athletes.
Gilbert, the University of Ottawa law professor, said Canada in general still has work to do in educating young people about consent, especially in sports. She’s involved in efforts to teach youth about consent through school programming, but said professional hockey in particular is behind on enacting policies to address the issue.
Consent should be “enthusiastic, affirmative, ongoing, coherent” — yes means yes, said Gilbert.
“I think people don’t understand that that’s actually what the law requires. And so if you know that, if you think about that as the way that we should approach consent, then I think it’s easier to understand why those videos don’t mean much.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Max Scherzer has never been one to make excuses.
Scherzer didn’t take the loss on the scorecard when the Toronto Blue Jays dropped a 5-4 decision to the New York Yankees on Tuesday, but he did take responsibility for it after he gave up four runs on five hits and a walk over five innings.
“I just have to locate the ball better. I gotta put the ball where I want to. I’ve got to execute better,” said the surefire Hall of Famer. “This comes down to location. I’ve got to locate the ball better. You’ve got to pitch better.
“I don’t think this is going back to the drawing board, I think my pitches are there, so that’s the good news. But at the end day, I’ve got to pitch better. I’ve got to locate better.”
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Scherzer gave up a three-run blast to Jazz Chisholm Jr., in the first inning and then a solo shot to Cody Bellinger in the fifth as New York (56-45) jumped out to an early lead. Although the Blue Jays tied it 4-4 in the sixth inning on RBI doubles from pinch-hitter Davis Schneider and George Springer, Scherzer still blamed himself for digging too deep a hole for Toronto to climb out of.
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“I take accountability for where I put the ball, and I can be better,” said Scherzer, who struck out four. “I know I can be better, and so I will be better.”
Closer Jeff Hoffman (6-3) actually took the loss for Toronto after he gave up a home run to Ben Rice in the ninth inning. Addison Barger had kept the Blue Jays in the game with a pair of RBI singles in the first and fifth innings.
“I put them in a tough spot by giving up four runs, but the rest of the team did their job,” said Scherzer. “Guys are out there fighting.
“We’re a great team. They’re a great team. These are fun series to be in. You just want to be out there helping your team win more.”
The Blue Jays’ four-game win streak and franchise-best 11-game streak at Rogers Centre were snapped by the defeat but Toronto still held a three-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East standings.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider wasn’t panicking after the loss.
“We had our chances, but didn’t really come through,” he said. “I love the way they fought, though.
“Every night it’s the same thing. It seems to be a different guy and we’re right in there every game.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Ben Rice’s ninth-inning home run helped the New York Yankees salvage a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., had a three-run homer in the first inning and Cody Bellinger added a solo shot in the fifth for an early New York (56-45) lead.
Cam Schlittler gave up seven hits and three walks over five innings but limited the Blue Jays to just two runs.
Relievers Tim Hill, Jonathan Loaisiga, Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton (2-1) and Devin Williams following Schlittler to the mound.
Pinch-hitter Davis Schneider and George Springer each had an RBI double to tie it 4-4 for Toronto (59-42) in the sixth. Addison Barger kept the Blue Jays in the game with RBI singles in the first and fifth.
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Max Scherzer gave up four runs on five hits and a walk over five innings, striking out four.
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Mason Fluharty, Justin Bruihl, Jeff Hoffman (6-3) came out of the bullpen with Hoffman taking the loss.
TAKEAWAYS
Yankees: New York got to Scherzer, a future Hall of Famer, early with Trent Grisham and Bellinger leading the game off with back-to-back hits. Although two-time MVP Aaron Judge struck out, Chisholm took Scherzer deep to right field for the 3-0 lead.
Blue Jays: Manager John Schneider subbed in pinch hitters Myles Straw and Davis Schneider in the sixth inning and the gambit paid off. Straw, in for Joey Loperfido, reached base on shortstop Anthony Volpe’s throwing error. Two batters later, Schneider doubled in Straw. Springer then drove in Schneider with his two-bagger to tie the game 4-4.
KEY MOMENT
Hoffman came on in the ninth to shutdown the middle of the Yankees’ batting order and set up a potential Toronto walk-off victory. The Blue Jays’ closer hung a 96.9 miles per hour four-seam fastball high in the strike zone and Rice crushed it to reclaim New York’s lead.
KEY STAT
Toronto’s four-game win streak and franchise-best 11-game home win streak were snapped with the loss, but the Blue Jays still hold a three-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East standings.
UP NEXT
Chris Bassitt (10-4) will take the mound as Toronto finishes its three-game series with New York.
Ace Max Fried (11-3) gets the start for the Yankees.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
At the edge of a major meeting of the country’s top leaders, the leaders of three major provinces unveiled an agreement to push for massive new pipeline and railway projects.
On Tuesday, Ontario and Alberta added Saskatchewan to an agreement signed a couple of weeks ago, specifically to explore trade and plan pipelines and new rail infrastructure.
That plan, outlined in a memorandum of understanding, is to work together to study a potential east-west pipeline made with domestically produced steel to connect to the not-yet-built James Bay deep-sea port in Ontario.
It also means the two provinces will study the feasibility of building a railway line from the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northern Ontario to mineral processing facilities in Western Canada.
As she unveiled the latest recruit to the agreement, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith fired a warning shot at Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was due to arrive in the same building for talks with premiers about an hour earlier.
“If Prime Minister Mark Carney doesn’t want to work with us, it’s not just myself and Scott Moe he has to worry about; he’ll also have to contend with Premier Doug Ford,” she said. “It’s time to get rid of the bad laws that have harmed Canada’s ability to grow the energy sector.”
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Ford’s office said the agreement unveiled with Saskatchewan on the edges of a series of major leaders meetings in Muskoka was broadly the same as the one Ontario and Alberta had already agreed to, with some minor changes.
“We are sending a clear signal that Canada’s energy future will be built by Canadians, for Canadians,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, the latest signatory, said in a statement.
“This agreement commits our provinces to work together to unlock new markets, shore up our supply chains from mine to port and advocate for the federal reforms our industry needs.”
Where other major provinces stand on the issue remains unclear. Quebec Premier François Legault did not answer questions in English about the pipeline agreement signed by the three provinces.
When asked about the possibility of a railway project, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said his province “already (has) a railway.
“This is not imaginary,” Kinew said tersely. “I think our project’s the best because it’s real.”
Kinew was referring to his proposal to build a new port at Hudson Bay to create shipping routes for Canadian exports, including oil.
When asked whether Ontario and Alberta have Manitoba’s buy-in for the joint provincial project,t Kinew said he was “on Team Canada.”
He added, “We’re all working together, building up the country.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby said he wasn’t invited to sign the agreement. Asked if he would have taken part if he had been asked, he replied: “I don’t know what it said.”
Separately, Ontario has sewn up interprovincial trade agreements with a total of 10 provinces and territories, including British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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