Hockey Canada

Thursday April 20, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 20, 2023

Slap Shot or Slap in the Face?

October 7, 2022

The recent decision by the Trudeau government to release Hockey Canada from the penalty box and restore its funding after it was frozen in June 2022 by Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge has raised eyebrows and doubts about its wisdom. While Hockey Canada did enough to provisionally regain its funding, the challenges it now faces in rebuilding trust with major sponsors may be insurmountable, according to marketing expert Dr. Joanne McNeish from Toronto Metropolitan University.

The loss of sponsorship dollars, which was reported to be $23.5 million last year, and the loss of funding was a direct result of the revelation that a woman alleged she was sexually assaulted by eight players, including members of the 2018 world junior team, following a foundation gala in London, Ont. in June 2018. Hockey Canada and the woman quietly settled a $3.55 million lawsuit out of court. Subsequently, members of the 2003 men’s world junior roster were also being investigated for a group sexual assault.

Despite bringing in new leadership and meeting the conditions to have its funding restored, Hockey Canada’s reputation has been severely tarnished. The decision to restore funding has been met with disagreement by some members of Parliament, and it has raised questions about the organization’s leverage in negotiations with potential or past sponsors.

Opinion: The funding is back but can public trust in Hockey Canada be restored? 

November 28, 2007

Dr. McNeish argues that rebuilding trust, once broken, is a monumental challenge. Sponsors will be cautious and may impose additional legal and contractual obligations, which could be costly for a non-profit organization like Hockey Canada. This means that the organization will have less freedom in how it uses the funding provided and may have to accept less favorable terms from sponsors, leaving them in a position of almost begging for sponsorship.

Furthermore, the public perception of Hockey Canada may be negatively impacted, with sponsors opting for more targeted and specific funding at the grassroots level, rather than a visible public link with the organization. Companies like Tim Hortons have already pulled out of men’s hockey programming for the 2022-2023 season, including the men’s world junior championships, while continuing to fund women’s and para hockey teams, as well as youth hockey.

Dr. McNeish argues that while some sponsors may return, others may not find it worth the risk to associate themselves with an organization that has faced serious allegations of sexual assault and has had its funding frozen. The damage to Hockey Canada’s reputation may result in a weaker negotiating position and less favorable sponsorship terms, which could have long-term repercussions for the organization’s financial stability and ability to support grassroots hockey.

News: Rebuilding trust with sponsors will be next challenge for Hockey Canada  

February 22, 2014

In conclusion, the Trudeau government’s decision to restore funding to Hockey Canada may not have been a wise one. While the organization has met the conditions to regain its funding, the challenges of rebuilding trust with major sponsors and the potential loss of leverage in negotiations may have long-term negative consequences. The damage to Hockey Canada’s reputation may result in less favorable sponsorship terms and a weakened financial position, which could impact its ability to support grassroots hockey in Canada. It remains to be seen how sponsors will respond, but the decision to restore funding may have been made too hastily, without fully considering the potential consequences for the organization’s future. (AI)

 

Friday October 7, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 7, 2022

Hockey Canada cannot dodge accountability

When it comes to wilful blindness and delusional self-importance, it’s no small accomplishment to leave a committee of politicians — themselves masters in the craft — slack-jawed and speechless.

But Andrea Skinner pulled it off.

The interim chair of Hockey Canada, testifying before a Commons committee on Tuesday, put on a master class of denial, deflection, whataboutism and arrogance.

Skinner suggested the problem of sexual assault was societal, rather than particularly prevalent in hockey.

“Toxic behaviour exists throughout society,” she told MPs via video link, and to crack down on hockey would be “counterproductive.”

She went on to say that the hockey world in this country could not possibly cope with a wholesale housecleaning at Hockey Canada.

February 18, 2022

“I think that will be very impactful in a negative way to our boys and girls who are playing hockey. Will the lights stay on in the rink? I don’t know. We can’t predict that. And to me, that’s not a risk worth taking.”

The defiant performance amounted to chutzpah on stilts, so out of touch with the reality of proceedings that MPs wanted to know if Skinner was perhaps being coached by someone off screen working from a script.

The last year at Hockey Canada has produced enough appalling news that most entities under similar duress would have cleaned house and agreed to whatever terms citizens, stakeholders and government demanded by way of renewal.

First came media reports of an alleged sexual assault following a 2018 gala in London, Ont., involving eight unidentified players — including members of that year’s world junior championship team.

A police investigation resulted in no charges, but a woman — 18 and intoxicated at the time of the alleged assault — later sued Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and unnamed players for more than $3.5 million and reached an out-of-court settlement. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Then came news that Hockey Canada maintained a so-called National Equity Fund to pay for uninsured liabilities, including sexual-abuse claims.

Then, further allegations of sexual assault against players on Canada’s national junior team from 2003 in Halifax.

The federal government has frozen funding and corporate sponsors put a hold on their support, turning this summer’s World Junior Hockey championship in Alberta into the sporting equivalent of a tree falling in a forest with no one there to hear it.

This week, just days before the scheduled committee appearance, more news broke that Hockey Canada actually had a second fund to handle sexual assault claims.

While police continue to investigate the sexual assault allegations, federal Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge quite properly commissioned a full audit of Hockey Canada dating to 2016.

This week, the minister said on CBC News: “We’re witnessing an organization that seems to be more interested in protecting themselves and their jobs than protecting the public, the women and the players in their own organization.”

It goes without saying there must be accountability and consequences for any perpetrators of sexual assault.

There must also be accountability for the governance group that — whether Skinner recognizes it or not — contributed to the toxic culture of entitlement by helping make complaints disappear while allowing transgressors to skate merrily on with their charmed lives.

On Wednesday, Hockey Quebec declared that it had lost confidence in Hockey Canada and will not transfer funds to the national organization. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke for many, saying, “I think it boggles the mind that Hockey Canada is continuing to dig in its heels … Parents across the country are losing faith or have lost faith in Hockey Canada. Certainly, politicians here in Ottawa have lost faith in Hockey Canada.”

Skinner need have no fear that the lights will stay on in rinks across Canada. Just as the spotlight on Hockey Canada will keep shining until accountability is delivered. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial)