Hazing incidents in Canada

The suspension of a Manitoba Junior Hockey League coach and several players who subjected teammates to humiliating initiation rituals has again brought the issue of hazing into the headlines. Below are some other examples of hazing in Canada.  

Nepean High School, Ottawa, September 2011: Grade 12 student Mykal Baytaluk was expelled from the school for throwing eggs at a freshman student while driving off school property and running him down with his car in what officials called a hazing prank.

St. Thomas University, Fredericton, N.B., November 2010: Rookie volleyball player Andrew Bartlett, 21, was found dead after attending a team party where it was alleged that rookie players were urged to drink large amounts of alcohol and made to do degrading acts as part of a hazing ritual.

Mississauga Transportation and Works Department, June 2010: Two supervisors were suspended without pay for getting employees to haze their co-workers by binding them with duct tape, pelting them with water balloons, hitting them and otherwise humiliating them.  

Carleton University, Ottawa, September 2009: The varsity women's soccer team was suspended for several games after holding a rookie initiation that involved having players drink large quantities of alcohol and engaging in what the school called inappropriate and irresponsible behaviour.

Yukon Soccer Association, November 2008: Three players were suspended for hazing three of their teammates in their hotel rooms during a tournament in P.E.I. The hazing involved tying the boys up with athletic tape, wrapping them in plastic wrap and taking photos of them.

McGill University, Montreal, October 2005: The university cancelled the football season after an investigation found rookies were subjected to a nude hazing ritual in which they were gagged and forced into a degrading position and prodded with a broom handle.

Windsor Spitfires hockey team, September 2005: The Ontario Hockey League team was fined and its general manager and coach suspended after four rookies were forced to crowd into a washroom on the team bus — naked and with the heat turned up — in a hazing ritual known as the "sweat box."