Ecole Saint-Laurent: Many students’ “dignity” is compromised

An investigation into the arrest of three coaches accused of violating the dignity of several female students involved in the women’s basketball program at Montreal’s Saint-Laurent High School has ended.

“The investigation made it possible to identify significant deficiencies in terms of supervision and controls related to the basketball program at the Saint-Laurent school. In view of the information collected, the dignity of many athletes at the Saint-Laurent school was compromised,” the Education Ministry said in a summary, revealing the main lines of the investigation report, on Tuesday.

Last February, basketball program head Daniel Lacasse and his colleagues Charles-Xavier Boislard and Robert Lu were charged with sexual harassment, sexual contact, sexual exploitation and solicitation of sexual contact for actions taken against the two victims in mid-2008. And 2014.

In the process, many voices were raised demanding more security for young athletes, a better system for reporting abuse, a concern echoed in the investigative report.

Therefore, to end the culture of silence in the sports world, specifically the administration researchers propose “mandatory training on witness interference in schools and raising awareness of the influence of spectators.”

The Marguerite-Bourgeois School Service Center (CSS), which oversees Saint-Laurent School, has promised to implement the recommendations.

“The management of the school’s women’s basketball program is targeted through research, and we will spare no effort to meet expectations and reflect the values ​​of dignity and respect we uphold,” CSS assured.