After several months without official direction, Hockey Canada announced the members of its new board of directors on Saturday. Five women and four men from various backgrounds make it up.
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As reported earlier this week by The Journal of Montreal, the lawyer specializing in mediation Me Julie Duranceau is part of the group. She is thus the first Quebecer in history to join the board of the national federation.
Former athlete turned sports lawyer Hugh L. Fraser will serve as chair. The ex-sprinter notably participated in the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
“We have a lot of work to do and are determined to make the expected changes within Hockey Canada,” he said in a statement. Hockey is an intrinsic part of our country’s identity, and we are committed to ensuring that Hockey Canada is an organization that is transparent, accountable to Canadians and worthy of their trust.”
The only person with hockey experience on that board is former national team player Cassie Campbell-Pascall. The other members are Grant Borbridge, David Evans, Marni Fullerton, Jonathan F. Goldbloom, Marian Jacko and Andrea Poole.
They will all serve a one-year term “focused on making the changes necessary to improve the governance of Hockey Canada and the safety of the sport on and off the ice,” it said.
In October, Hockey Canada accepted the resignations of interim board chair Andrea Skinner and CEO Scott Smith.
It should be remembered that the organization’s actions in the management of sexual assault cases had been denounced by the government and most of the sponsors doing business with the federation.