Recapping the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal
Matthew DeMille, Staff Writer
For over five decades, Hockey Canada has been tasked with expanding and growing the sport of hockey across the country. This included grassroots programs for the youngest of skaters to international tournaments for the world’s best athletes. Since its emergence in 1968, the organization has been the beating heart of Canadian hockey. Now, its five-decade long legacy has been utterly demolished, following some disturbing events surrounding the organization made apparent over the last year.
It first began in May 2022, when the hockey community across Canada was rocked to its core as news broke that an unnamed 20-year-old woman claimed she was sexually assaulted by eight members of Team Canada’s world junior team following a golf event hosted by Hockey Canada in 2018. According to the victim, Hockey Canada knew about the ongoing situation but neglected to take a closer look at it or discipline any of the players.
While no player names have been released nor speculated, some players on the team at the time went on to become prominent figures in the National Hockey League (NHL).
In response to the woman’s claim, Hockey Canada agreed to pay her settlement worth $3.55 million in May of 2022 and it was also rumored that the organization requested she sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) as well.
The sexual assault case in 2018 was not the only allegation directed at a team represented by Hockey Canada either. In July 2022, just months after an agreement was reached regarding the 2018 world junior team, a source stepped forward and stated there was a video that depicted six members of the 2003 Canadian world junior team sexually assaulting a “non-responsive” woman in a hotel room at the time of the tournament. While the video has not been made public, two of the male participants have been identified by the source.
This, unfortunately, would be just the start of what has become arguably the biggest scandal in hockey history.
Following the settlement, Hockey Canada’s former CEO Scott Smith revealed that since 1989 the organization had spent about $8.9 million in settlements that cover 21 different sexual assault cases. On top of that, about $7.6 million put towards the various settlements actually came from a national equity fund that was, in turn, partly filled by registration fees from youth hockey players across Canada. The concept of taking the money that countless Canadian families paid for their kids to play hockey and using it to pay off sexual assault settlements directed at Hockey Canada enraged the public.
Before long, Canadians across the country were demanding the entire board of directors for Hockey Canada, including Smith, to step down from their posts, but it wasn’t until October 2022 — five months after the first report was made public — that Smith and the directors finally stepped down.
The aftermath of the scandal continues to haunt the organization. Many business partners, including Canadian Tire, Esso, Nike, Scotiabank, TELUS and Tim Horton’s have pulled their funding and partnerships with the organization.
All of the federal government financial support previously provided to Hockey Canada was halted after Canada’s Minister for Sport Pascale St. Onge made the decision to cut all funding to the organization and the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, which was held in Edmonton, also went sponsorless as it was hosted by Hockey Canada. The tournament would go on to have incredibly low attendance rates and many speculate the Hockey Canada scandal was to blame.
It’s not only corporations that want nothing to do with Hockey Canada. Provincial branches within Hockey Canada no longer side with their parent body. In October, Hockey Nova Scotia, Hockey Ontario and Hockey Quebec announced their plans on holding a portion of their registration fees that would normally go to Hockey Canada and other provinces are expected to follow suit.
During this time, Hockey Canada has not sat idly by. Due to public demand, they’ve reopened the 2018 world junior sexual assault case. In July, they also released an ‘emergency action plan’ aimed to “address systemic issues in hockey.”
While Hockey Canada believes they’ve made steps in the right direction, it’s clear that all is not forgiven in the hockey community.
This scandal continues to be ever changing as more information and news continues to be shared. However, one fact that will not change is that Hockey Canada has destroyed their relationship with former partners, the hockey community, and the greater public, with how they handled themselves.
If these relationships are to be mended, Hockey Canada will have to make drastic changes internally as well as a top to bottom review of the players representing both the organization and their nation in order to guarantee the safety and wellbeing of all parties involved. And even if the right steps are taken, the organization may never return to its former glory.