Hockey Canada has revealed that more than 65% of players’ insurance contributions are paid into the organization’s emergency fund, also called the “national equity fund”.
In a letter to MP Peter Julian obtained by The Canadian Press, Hockey Canada President and CEO Scott Smith detailed how registration and insurance fees are broken down.
General liability insurance ($8.90), directors and officers insurance ($2.75) and security/administration ($2.75) are allocated to the fund and account for $13.65 of the 20, $80 insurance fee paid.
The breakdown said general liability insurance would have been used to settle sexual misconduct claims, although Hockey Canada has since said the reserve fund will no longer be used for that purpose.
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance ($5.15) and medical and dental insurance ($2) make up the remainder and go to the health and benefit trust.
Insurance accounts for the bulk of the total registration fee of $23.80, with the other three dollars being assessment and registration fees.
Although Smith shared these details, Peter Julian is unsure of their accuracy.
“I’m skeptical because Hockey Canada tends not to provide complete information,” the MP said. This is certainly my experience. And the fact that I specifically wrote to Mr. Smith asking questions that he never answered makes me skeptical of the finance charge estimate he put forward. »
Lack of transparency
Smith was responding to an Aug. 22 letter from Julian, in which the member of the House of Commons heritage committee denounced Hockey Canada for its lack of transparency regarding its use of registration fees.
“Parents of hockey players across the country deserve to know exactly how their registration fees are used,” Julian said in the letter.
Hockey Canada confirmed the existence of the fund in a July 19 statement and said it has been used to settle sexual misconduct complaints.
The next day, Hockey Canada said it would no longer be used to settle complaints of this nature.
During a July 27 parliamentary hearing, Hockey Canada chief financial officer Brian Cairo said the governing body used the fund to pay $7.6 million into nine settlements related to sexual assault and claims for sexual abuse since 1989.
This figure does not include the undisclosed amount of a 2018 settlement following an alleged sexual assault, involving players from the World Junior Championship team, that year.