'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
In the wake of the Hockey Canada scandal, some advocates are calling for the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to be banned or restricted in settlement agreements in cases involving abuse.
University of Windsor law professor Julie Macfarlane is one of the founders of the "Can't Buy My Silence" campaign to end the use of NDAs in abuse cases. She says these agreements have often been used by organizations and companies under the guise of protecting the privacy of the victim.
"(Victims) are told that in order for their name to be kept secret and their identity to be protected, they also have to protect the identity of the other side -- the perpetrator -- and not disclose what it was that happened to them," Macfarlane told CTV's Your Morning on Thursday.
But instead of protecting victims, Macfarlane says these agreements pressure victims into silence while protecting organizations and even perpetrators.
"(NDAs) are held over the head of the claimant who's received a settlement. And they are told that if they were ever to speak about their case … they will be in breach of that agreement and could lose their compensation," she said.
Last month, it was revealed that Hockey Canada had paid out $7.6 million since 1989 in several sexual assault-related settlements, and some of the claimants involved in the settlements were bound by non-disclosure agreements.
On July 27, Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith told a parliamentary committee the organization would allow any claimant who had signed an NDA to speak out about their experiences.
"If they wish to eliminate those, unless there is a legal reason not to that I'm not aware of, I'm not sure why we wouldn't," Smith told MPs.
Back in May, P.E.I. became the first jurisdiction in Canada to restrict the use of NDAs in cases of discrimination and harassment, including sexual misconduct. Under the legislation, an NDA is only legal in these cases if the victim requests one and if the agreement will not lead to the harming of a third party.
Macfarlane calls the conditions in P.E.I.'s legislation "fairly common sense," particularly the provisions in the bill that say the NDA must not harm a third party.
"There's an expression that has been developed in the last few years: 'pass the trash.' That refers to the idea that somebody who has already behaved in a way that might be dangerous … could move with impunity to another workplace that knows nothing about their background," she said.
"We argue that that always harms third parties because people who behave in this way tend to reoffend over and over again."
Similar bills have also been put before the legislatures in Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Canada's Minister of Sport, Pascale St-Onge, has criticized the use of NDAs, and told the Canadian Press in June that NDAs contradict the "very principle of safe sports."
Macfarlane says the public outcry over the Hockey Canada scandal has led to a new "momentum" in the campaign to ban or restrict the use of NDAs. She said the "Can't Buy My Silence" campaign has been working with legislators across Canada on NDA bills.
"It's really a matter of trying to educate the lawmakers who are looking at this issue and also the public as we go along," she said.
With files from The Canadian Press.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.