After clinging to her position despite the rain of criticism that swept over the organization, the chair of the board of directors of Hockey Canada has finally submitted her resignation.
Posted at 8:25 p.m.
Updated at 9:24 p.m.
The presidency of the Board thus becomes vacant for the second time in just over two months. Andrea Skinner had been acting since the beginning of August, when the previous president, Michael Brind’Amour, had himself retired after months of uninterrupted turmoil for the organization.
Little known to the general public, M.me Skinner, a Toronto lawyer and former college hockey player, found herself in the spotlight last Tuesday. During a difficult appearance before the Heritage Committee in Ottawa, she ferociously defended her organization, claiming in particular that Hockey Canada was a “scapegoat” through the major crisis that the powerful organization is going through.
She notably attacked the media and the political class for the treatment of the revelations of the last few months, even denouncing “disinformation”. She also praised the work of Scott Smith, president and CEO of Hockey Canada, himself summoned by Parliament, starting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself, to resign.
“After careful consideration and in light of recent events, it no longer seems reasonable to me to continue volunteering my time as interim president or administrator for the organization,” wrote Ms.me Skinner in a statement distributed to provincial federations on Saturday night and later posted on Hockey Canada’s website.
Mme Skinner writes that he had the “firm intention”, in seeking a position on the board in November 2020, to “make hockey more safe, accessible, inclusive and welcoming”.
SCREEN CAPTURE FROM HOCKEY CANADA SITE
Statement from Andrea Skinner, Interim Chair of the Board of Hockey Canada, who resigned her position on Saturday evening.
Since May, Hockey Canada has been trying to justify its management of the aftermath of a gang rape allegedly perpetrated by eight junior-aged players in June 2018. Last spring, the national federation quickly concluded an out-of-court agreement with the alleged victim after she filed a civil lawsuit against her alleged attackers and Hockey Canada, among others.
This story has become a veritable Pandora’s box for the organization. the Globe and Mail revealed the existence of two little-known funds, partially funded by contributions from young players from across the country, whose mission was to compensate victims of sexual assault. One of them, the National Equity Fund, is known to have been specifically used for this purpose. From 1989 to 2022, using different funding sources, Hockey Canada paid millions of dollars to 22 victims, we learned over the summer.