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World junior players acquitted of sexual assault ineligible to play in NHL
The five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team who were acquitted Thursday of sexual assault are ineligible to play in the NHL as it reviews the judge’s findings, the league says.
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote were found not guilty of all charges after a high-profile trial centred on an alleged group sexual encounter in London, Ont., in 2018.
“The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behavior at issue was unacceptable,” the NHL said in a statement to Global News.
“We will be reviewing and considering the judge’s findings. While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the League.”
McLeod, Hart, Dubé and Foote were active NHL players at the time of their 2024 arrests, which came days after all four players were granted leave from their clubs.
Formenton, an Ottawa Senators draft pick, has not played in the NHL since 2022. He last played with the Swiss club HC Ambri-Piotta.
The five men had been on trial since late April — accused of engaging in non-consensual group sex with a then-20-year-old woman in June 2018. All five men pleaded not guilty to sexual assault; McLeod also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
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“In this case, I have found actual consent not vitiated by fear. I do not find the evidence of E.M. to be either credible or reliable,” Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia said of the female complainant, known as E.M. in court documents as her identity is protected under a standard publication ban.
“With respect to the charges before this court, having found that I cannot rely upon the evidence of E.M. and then considering the evidence in this trial on the whole, I conclude the Crown can not meet its onus on any of the counts before me.”
Court heard the team was in London for events marking its gold-medal performance at that year’s championship, and that the complainant was out with friends when they met at a downtown bar on June 18, 2018.
After being with McLeod and his teammates at the bar, E.M. would go on to have consensual sex with McLeod in his room in the early morning hours of June 19. Court has heard that E.M., who testified she was drunk and not of clear mind, was in the washroom after she had sex with McLeod and came out to a group of men in the room allegedly invited by McLeod in the group chat.
It was then that the Crown alleged several sexual acts took place without E.M.’s consent, an argument Carroccia rejected in her ruling Thursday.
Hart, formerly of the Philadelphia Flyers; McLeod and Foote, formerly of the New Jersey Devils; and Dubé, formerly of the Calgary Flames were not re-signed by their respective teams last year after they were charged. Up until that point, they were still being paid while on leave to respond to the charges.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in February 2024 after the charges were filed in court that the league would not consider any punishment against the four players until the conclusion of judicial proceedings.
“I have repeatedly used the words ‘abhorrent, reprehensible, horrific and unacceptable’ to describe the alleged behaviors. And those words continue to apply,” he said at the time.
—With files from Global’s Aaron D’Andrea and Sean O’Shea
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Hudson’s Bay has reached deals to sell the leases of six store locations as legal wrangling continues on work to close a deal to sell up to 25 leases to B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu.
Legal filings show clothing retailer YM Inc. has struck a deal to buy five leases for $5.03 million, while it was unable to secure landlord approvals for three other locations.
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The five leases include Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ont., Tanger Outlet in Kanata, Ont., Outlet Collection in Winnipeg, CrossIron Mills in Rocky View, Alta., and Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills, Ont.
Separately, Ivanhoe Realties Inc. has agreed to pay $20,000 for a lease at Metrotown in Burnaby, B.C., that its parent company Ivanhoe Cambridge owns.
Hudson’s Bay put its leases up for sale earlier this year, after it filed for creditor protection and closed its 80 stores and 16 under its sister Saks banners.
Three leases which sold for $6 million were already transferred to Liu who wants to buy 25 more to open a department store.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Correctional Service Canada says a convicted murderer who escaped from a Quebec prison nearly three weeks ago has been recaptured.
They say Lory Bill Germa was apprehended by the Montreal police at around 7:45 a.m. Friday.
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The 69-year-old escaped from the Archambault Institution north of Montreal on July 5.
Staff at the prison’s minimum-security unit reported him missing after noticing he was absent during an inmate count.
Germa had been serving a first-degree murder sentence for a crime committed in 1992.
Ontario Provincial Police issued a news release after the escape saying Germa might be in southwestern Ontario.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
The Toronto Zoo will soon become home to a blind baby moose who was rescued near Ottawa earlier this month.
The two-month-old baby moose, now named Cedar, was found by an animal rescue group on a rural road in Hawkesbury, Ont.
Cedar was brought to Holly’s Haven Wildlife Rescue, where he spent the last three weeks getting professional veterinary aid and care.
“The moose calf was blind and wandering on its own with no sight of a mother,” said Lynne Rowe, the rescue organization’s director of operations.
Rowe said staff immediately set up a room to assess Cedar’s health, and found he has partial sight in one eye. By the next day, a small outdoor enclosure was created for him to move into.
While Rowe said they would usually turn to Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Rosseau, Ont., to secure permanent shelter for rescued animals, they were told the sanctuary was at capacity with moose.
So Rowe shifted gears and reached out to the Toronto Zoo, which they said felt like a “fantastic alternative.”
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In order to get Cedar to the zoo, Rowe had to obtain approval from the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources. It came in within a day of applying.
“Moose cannot be taken out of the wild to be put in a zoo,” Rowe explained. The only way a native Canadian animal like a moose can end up in an enclosure is if it is deemed unfit to be released back into the wild.
Dolf DeJong, CEO of the Toronto Zoo, said the zoo has a suitable moose enclosure and would be happy to welcome Cedar.
A full zoonotic disease scan and other risk assessment steps will be taken before the move.
“Anytime you’re moving ungulates around the province, that’s really important,” DeJong said.
“Our veterinarians will connect with their veterinarians now so we can get a full understanding of Cedar’s condition and make sure we’re able to provide that support he needs for him to thrive.”
DeJong said the best-case scenario would have been for the animal to be healthy and released back into the wild.
But there are upsides to this alternative solution.
“Many Canadians don’t have the chance to see a moose, have never realized that they are massive, incredible animals with really fun diets and some really unique adaptations,” he said.
“And if he needs a forever home, we’re excited to be able to share that story and to provide that care for him.”
At this time, DeJong said there is no set date for when Cedar will be moved to the zoo or when visitors can see him. The priority is making sure Cedar is in good health, he said.
“This is a visually impaired moose who will have his list of challenges. So our team will be doing their homework to make sure he’s got the highest probability of success possible,” he said.
“He’s certainly been through a lot,” DeJong said. “It’s an honour and a duty we don’t take lightly.”
Cedar will continue living at Holly’s Haven until he is cleared by vets to be in good shape to travel and all required paperwork at the zoo’s end is complete, Rowe said.
“I’m very eager to see him settled into his new place,” Rowe said. “I will definitely visit him at some point in the future.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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