Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it’s “difficult for anyone” to have faith in Canada’s hockey leadership following revelations this week that the federation maintains a fund designed to handle sexual misconduct claims.
Speaking to reporters in British Columbia on Tuesday, Trudeau said the fund was “absolutely unacceptable.”
“I think right now it’s hard for anybody in Canada to have faith or trust in anybody at Hockey Canada. What we are learning today is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
“When I think about the culture that apparently permeates the upper echelons of this organization, I can understand why so many parents, why so many Canadians who are proud of our national winter sport, are absolutely disgusted by what’s going on,” Trudeau continued. certainly as a government we will continue to be unequivocal in our condemnation of what we learn and above all in our demands that things change significantly.’
The Canadian Press reported the existence of the Hockey Canada fund on Monday, citing a July 2021 affidavit given by Hockey Canada’s former vice-president of insurance and risk management, Glenn McCurdy, which said it was used to cover “ uninsured liabilities, including potential claims for historical sexual abuse.”
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If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse and needs support, people across Canada can find province-specific centres, crisis lines and services here. For readers in America, a list of resources and references can be found here.
The Globe and Mail on Tuesday reported that Hockey Canada built the fund using revenue from small hockey registration fees. The news increased the spotlight Hockey Canada has been operating under since news first broke of a May 2022 civil settlement stemming from allegations made by a woman who said she was sexually assaulted in June 2018 by eight CHL players, including some members of the Canadian World Junior Team.
When reached for comment, a Hockey Canada spokesperson told Sportsnet that the organization “maintains a national capital fund that covers a wide range of costs related to safety, health and fairness initiatives across our organization.”
The statements continue to read:
“This includes, but is not limited to, player counseling and treatment, Canadian Hockey League concussion research grants, Hockey Canada staff criminal background checks, donations to the Kids Help Phone, as well as a range of safety initiatives.” The fund is also used to pay the organization’s insurance premiums and cover any claims not covered by insurance policies, including those related to physical injury, harassment and sexual misconduct.
“The fund has been established in a manner consistent with reserve funds maintained by other large national organizations. With that in mind, Hockey Canada recently announced a full governance review that will help us ensure we meet the highest standards Canadians expect and that will include the administration of the fund.
Last week, Hockey Canada released a “Letter to All Canadians” in which it announced it would reopen its previous incomplete investigation into the allegations from 2018 and also “retain an independent third-party expert to fully investigate our organization and make recommendations to ensure that our governance is aligned with the requirements of a national organization with our reach and influence.”
Sportsnet confirmed Tuesday that before this separate fund was created, all sexual assault claims were handled through insurance. A source familiar with Hockey Canada said the fund was created under former CEO Tom Rennie. Rennie retired on July 1 and was replaced by Scott Smith, who is president and chief operating officer. (Sources say his retirement was not prompted by the allegations or the investigation.)
According to The Globe and Mail, the federation’s fund “has exceeded $15 million in recent years” and is “used at the discretion of Hockey Canada and may be used to write checks to cover out-of-court settlements of various claims, including allegations of sexual assault that are considered uninsured or settled without the involvement of their insurer.
In its statement on Tuesday, Hockey Canada did not directly mention the source of the funds.
Hockey Canada’s finances were already under intense scrutiny. Asked during testimony in Ottawa on June 20 about the source of the money used by Hockey Canada in May’s settlement, Smith said the organization “liquidated some of our investments to pay for the settlement.”
Last month, Canada’s sports minister, Pascal St-Onge, announced a freeze on government funding to the federation and called for a judicial review. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage also initiated a series of hearings that began on June 20 and continues with hearings scheduled for July 26 and 27 in Ottawa, with additional witnesses called from Hockey Canada, as well as representatives from the CHL, law firm Henein Hutchison and Insurance a Hockey Canada company.
Liberal MP Chris Bittle, who sits on the Heritage Committee and will attend the hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, said there would be “some very difficult questions” facing the organization next week.
“If you’re going to have a fund specifically for sexual assault settlements, we’re going to need more details, we’re going to need better answers in terms of what’s going on, what’s going on at Hockey Canada,” Bittle told CityNews Cormac McSweeney in Tuesday. “What are the decisions behind the creation of this? What are the decisions that led to the creation of this, compared to the broader changes in the culture of the sport and the deepening of this?”
NDP MP Peter Julian, who also serves on the heritage committee, called the fund’s existence “extremely troubling” and said it will be a central focus of next week’s hearings — especially, he said, when it comes to the estimated number paid out by him lawsuits.
“Hockey Canada was not transparent, they were not accountable,” Julian told Mac Sweeney. “They’re going to have to risk that next week by fully answering those questions that Canadians have.”
–With files by Paul D. Grant
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