A former Supreme Court judge recommended wholesale change at Hockey Canada a day before the embattled sports organization’s CEO and board resigned Tuesday.
In a 103-page interim report, plus a memo, released Thursday by Hockey Canada, Judge Thomas Cromwell laid the groundwork for a new framework, saying “there can be no serious debate” that Hockey Canada’s leadership had lost the confidence of the interested parties and of an important the disassembly was necessary.
Cromwell recommended that Hockey Canada create a transition board and a board chair who will serve only one year, and will be charged with addressing “the many public concerns about the organization’s senior management team.”
Hockey Canada announced Tuesday that president and CEO Scott Smith has left and the entire board of directors has resigned. The board will remain in place until a new board is elected at Hockey Canada’s annual general meeting on Dec. 17.
In his memorandum, Cromwell set out four main tasks for the transition board:
— Respond, together with the members of Hockey Canada, to the set of governance changes that will be published in its final report;
— Address the public’s numerous concerns about its senior management team;
— Begin to repair fractured relationships with stakeholders;
— Ensure operational stability.
“I take no pleasure in offering these recommendations,” Cromwell wrote. “However, I do so in order to further what I believe to be the best interests of Hockey Canada and the sport itself.”
Cromwell also wants the transition board to hire a “top-notch” recruiting firm.
NDP MP Peter Julian said the makeup of the next board is crucial to seeing real change.
“So it’s no longer just about ticking off what the executive leadership team decides, there’s a board that’s active and I think it should include people who have been real critics of Hockey Canada,” he said Julian.
Mike Bruni, who was Hockey Canada’s board president from 2012 to ’14, heads the nominating committee that will accept applications for board members.
Cromwell specified that the board comprise no more than 60 percent of one gender.
Canada’s women’s team, winner of the 2022 Olympics and world championships, said in a statement that Hockey Canada’s resignations were a positive first step, but that a board of directors that “truly embodies the diversity of our country” was vital.
“We ask for equal representation with a seat at the table, as we continue to promote and grow the women’s game globally, so we can provide our perspective and input to ensure our sport’s national governing body evolves into one that truly represents all Canadians and Canadians. safeguards its participant,” he wrote.
In August, Cromwell was tasked with conducting a full governance review of Hockey Canada after it was revealed the organization reached an undisclosed settlement with a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by eight players, including members of the country’s 2018 world junior team. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Julian said Cromwell’s findings, based on interviews with more than 65 people in more than 40 meetings with numerous follow-up emails, were not surprising.
“It shows the poor practices that Hockey Canada engaged in, which really meant that instead of putting in place a zero tolerance policy for sexual violence and sexual abuse, there was more of an attempt to use the money in silence and non-disclosure. agreements to ensure that victims did not have the ability to speak,” Julian said.
Hockey Canada has been the target of scathing criticism over how it handled sexual assault allegations, including the disclosure of a secret National Equity Fund (NEF) to pay uninsured liabilities. Cromwell said that while establishing the fund was prudent, he was highly critical of its lack of transparency. Members, he said, criticized the absence of a publicly available policy governing the fund, nor did the federation’s informal procedure for handling claims receive formal board approval.
Hockey Canada maintains that members can discuss and ask questions about the NEF, but those discussions took place in camera and a review of the minutes “does not provide clarity on the nature, scope and frequency of those discussions.” , said Cromwell.
“Judge Cromwell has confirmed that the practices of using the funds in this way with this kind of lack of accountability by the board … (is) recognizing what has been clear to so many Canadians, clear through the parliamentary hearings, clear with the withdrawal of sponsors and the provincial federations refusing to send the money they have obtained to Hockey Canada,” said Julian.
In a statement to The Canadian Press, Canada’s Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge said the Cromwell report confirms the federal government’s findings, which “expose the serious governance failures that have contributed to the situation we face today: an organization that has created a culture.” of silence and the trivialized problems of sexual violence”.
“I hope the new leaders will take strong action and make the changes that all Canadians expect,” added St-Onge.
The lack of transparency, Julian said, has been especially upsetting for “hockey parents who have to cut corners and save to get their kids into hockey programs, which the whole weight of this backlash has shown important thing is for Hockey Canada to change dramatically,” he said. “This week’s resignations are just a first step. It is critically important that we… establish a strong organization with strong governance and oversight structures.
“The federal government must force national sporting organizations, including Hockey Canada, to run transparently and responsibly and ensure there is zero tolerance for sexual violence and sexual abuse.”
The House of Commons committee investigating abuse in sport will reconvene next week to figure out how to expand its probe beyond Hockey Canada. Amid what St-Onge has called a “safe sport crisis” in Canada, numerous sports including gymnastics, bobsled and skeleton and rowing have called for a federal investigation into the toxic culture and abuse.
You can read the full report here.