The board of directors of Hockey Canada has pledged its unalloyed support for president and chief executive officer Scott Smith and his executive team amid calls for leadership change at the organization.
The Interim board chair Andrea Skinner disclosed the decision of the directors backing the organization’s executive in a statement.
Though the statement did not detail a reason for the show of support, but said the board is undertaking “ongoing efforts to restore the trust of Canadians in hockey and Hockey Canada,” which include a governance review.
It is imperative to note that Canada’s governing body of hockey is under intense scrutiny for its handling of sexual assault allegations against members of previous men’s junior teams.
In a very recent remark, advocate for sexual abuse survivors and retired NHL player Sheldon Kennedy repeated his calls for Hockey Canada’s leadership to resign.
Speaking with newsmen, he said “For the betterment of the game and kids, the leadership group at Hockey Canada must resign as they have lost the trust of Canadians in their ability to lead. That is crystal clear”.
It could be recalled that the federal government froze Hockey Canada’s funding after it was revealed the organization had quietly settled a lawsuit with a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by members of the 2018 men’s junior team at Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont., that year.
In view of the development, several of Hockey Canada’s corporate partners reportedly suspended their support of Hockey Canada after executives were grilled by MPs during a Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage meeting about the organization’s response to the alleged assault.
The embattled organization later said members of the 2003 junior team are under investigation for alleged sexual assault in Nova Scotia.
Reports have it that Sheldon Kennedy, an advocate for sexual abuse survivors and one of the victims of serial abuser Graham James, has called on Hockey Canada’s leadership to resign.
As of the time of filing this report, the only change at the top has been the resignation of previous board chair Michael Brind’Amour, who stepped down Aug. 6 before his term was set to end in November.
When contacted, Rob Koehler, the director general of Global Athlete, an international athlete-led movement founded to address the balance of power between athletes and administrators, said he wasn’t surprised the board is publicly supporting Smith.
He stated that “Anyone in Canadian sport knows that the well-paid national sport organization CEOs wield the majority of the power over volunteer boards. Ms. Skinner’s statement is akin to the fox guarding the henhouse”.
“Sport cannot self-regulate. Sport, like every industry, needs oversight, accountability and transparency. Sport has none of these. Until the Canadian government demands these principles, sports will continue to be a breeding ground for abuse.”
Reports have it that Hockey Canada trouble, aggravated when it was revealed that the organization used its multimillion-dollar National Equity Fund, which comes from player fees, for uninsured payments including the settlement of sexual abuse claims.
During a heritage committee hearing on July 27, Hockey Canada said it has paid out $7.6 million in nine settlements concerning sexual assault and sexual abuse claims since 1989, with $6.8 million of that related to serial abuser Graham James.
Hockey Canada has said since that the fund will no longer be used to settle sexual assault settlements.
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