When a National League hockey team languishes in the bottom of the standings for a long time, there are not 56,000 solutions: we have to rebuild. We fire the general manager, we kick the coach out, we trade overvalued stars or buy out their contracts, and above all, we install a new culture in the team.
Posted at 7:45 p.m.
With its handling of allegations of gang rape in the summer of 2018 by National Junior Team players, Hockey Canada can hardly go any lower: it took a national crisis, the suspension of federal funds and the withdrawal of sponsors for Hockey Canada is (finally!) acknowledging the seriousness of the situation.
Oddly, Hockey Canada executives are now asking Canadians to trust them. Those who have acted in a pitiful and shameful way in this file for a few months now think that they are able to operate the titanic change of culture necessary in the middle of hockey.
There are limits to naivety and willful blindness.
Currently, no one has confidence in Hockey Canada. In any case, not as long as the current leaders remain in office.
Hockey Canada executives remained silent on these gang rape allegations until top TSN reporter Rick Westhead unearthed the matter in late May 2022. (Hockey Canada reportedly disclosed the allegations in a “ minimal” in 2018 to Sport Canada, which kept the information internally. Sport Canada must also reflect on its conduct in this file…)
When the alleged victim sued Hockey Canada for $3.5 million last April, the two parties settled the matter out of court within a month without then trying to get to the bottom of the matter.
Hockey Canada officials have never released the findings of their independent investigation.
Initially, they made it appear that this independent investigation had been thorough and thorough. They carefully omitted to mention that only 10 of the 19 players of the 2018 National Junior Team participated, and that there were no sanctions if a player did not participate. Whoops…
They were pitiful in their first appearance before federal MPs in June. They didn’t even agree on the number of players who participated in the independent survey!
And such leaders would be trusted to instill a culture of zero tolerance for sexual violence, harassment and abuse?
The task ahead of Hockey Canada — and the entire hockey and sports community, in fact — is enormous.
For Hockey Canada, the first step in the solution is obvious: a complete housecleaning in its senior management. CEO Scott Smith, an employee of Hockey Canada for 25 years, is the last person who can lead this “rebuild”. His main lieutenants must also leave their posts. The credibility of the organization depends on it.
We have to bring in new leaders from outside. Who have strong values and ethics. Who believe in transparency and zero tolerance when it comes to allegations of sexual assault and abuse. Who will have free rein. Who will not drag the weight of past mistakes when they have to implement reforms.
We say “senior leaders” and “they”, but Hockey Canada should recruit several women in its next senior management team. There is certainly no shortage of quality candidates for a new management team to be in an equal zone (between 40% and 60% women).
Faced with the seriousness of the situation, the board of directors of Hockey Canada must also resign en bloc.
The Board has not played its oversight role since April. Hockey Canada would send a strong message by having a new, more serious and now equal board (it is currently made up of seven men and two women).
This week, the federal Minister of Sport, Pascale St-Onge, suggested to the leaders of Hockey Canada to reflect on their future. Ex-player Sheldon Kennedy, victim of sexual assault by his junior coach, asked for their resignation.
Hockey Canada tried to put the lid on the pot by presenting a new action plan on Monday to combat sexual violence, abuse and harassment.
Without a full housekeeping at the head of the organization, this plan isn’t even worth the paper it’s printed on.