This summer, Hockey Canada had asked for “a little time” to change its culture, deemed toxic. A time that the sports federation obviously did not know how to take advantage of. We even had the very strong feeling this week that it had rather regressed. The discovery by Globe and Mail of a second fund to settle complaints of sexual assault (and renewed until 2039!) as well as his distressing testimony before federal deputies have proven, by two, that the negligence of his management is not only total, but now insurmountable.
After seeing the Trudeau government temporarily suspend its public funding, the organization managed to get Hockey Quebec and the Ontario Hockey Federation off their hinges. Tired of waiting for an epiphany, the two powerful organizations announced that they were withdrawing part of their marbles until further notice. Previously loyal business partners intercepted the puck by announcing that they were closing the purse strings, but without touching funding for women’s and Paralympic activities. Tim Hortons, a strong symbol if ever there was one, is in the mix, as is Telus.
Hockey Canada didn’t even flinch. Its management seems impervious to criticism, determined to protect at all costs a system based on performance and short-term financial gains. Instead, she took advantage of her time in Ottawa to complain about smearing and misinformation. The interim president of its board of directors, Andrea Skinner, even judged, without laughing, that Hockey Canada was paying the price for a “toxic culture” that does not belong to it alone. Certainly, the world of Canadian hockey does not have a monopoly on the culture of silence when it comes to aggression and abuse. From there to claiming that the sports federation is only a “scapegoat” in this pitiful story, there is a step that you have to be very cheeky to take.
Rarely have we seen a more striking disconnection from reality. It was astonishing to see this woman passionate about hockey defend without bending the probity of a boy club who obviously had no idea that we were celebrating the fifth anniversary of the #MeToo movement this week. Nobody wants to play in this bad movie anymore. First and foremost, the poor parents of young hockey players, who are bothered by this Teflon management that nothing seems to want to shake.
Calling on sporting and commercial partners to put pressure in turn, as the Federal Sports Minister did, was the right thing to do. Targeting the increasingly thin wallet of this failing organization will no doubt have more effect than the mood swings of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who we feel is increasingly disgusted by the arrogance of Hockey Canada. Thursday, he suggested that in the absence of a major cleaning, it would be necessary to consider starting from scratch with a new organization.
Let’s face it, the sinews of war, hearing here the lucrative license rights, sponsors and other various partnerships, remains little started for the moment. This is where you have to screw it up first. There is also room on the political side. With the support of all opposition parties and her very upset PM, Minister Pascale St-Onge has a lot of cards in her hand to put the Hockey Canadas of this world on the bench.
On Wednesday, she also said that the new sports integrity commissioner must thoroughly investigate the toxic culture of abuse that exists in the various Canadian sports organizations. Hundreds of athletes linked to at least eight sports have claimed to have been victims of abuse or mistreatment or to have witnessed embezzlement. We applaud the prospect of this great examination.
The Bloc Québécois wants an independent investigation focusing specifically on the management of Hockey Canada. The very nature of the gestures made within it militates in favor of an additional exercise that would be specific to it. Unlike the majority of federations in turmoil, it is not coaches or people in authority, but many players who have committed acts of abuse and aggression who are at the heart of the storm (there are so far at least 21 victims who received nearly $9 million in compensation).
Stuck up to its neck in sexual misconduct scandals, Hockey Canada finds itself more isolated than ever at the end of this sorry unpacking. And that’s good, because what she told us without any embarrassment was that she didn’t understand anything we tried to make her understand in the last few months. Worse, she admits that the hateful culture of secrecy that allowed all these deviations is still hers. It is high time that humans once again become more important than results on the ice. Let’s change the whole formation!