Federal Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge expects “profound changes” within Hockey Canada following the resignation of the chairman of its board of directors, announced on Saturday. She calls for “real leadership” to be put in place at all levels.
Posted at 3:58 p.m.
Updated at 4:05 p.m.
“With this resignation, I think we’re starting to see cracks in the fortress, and that’s how the light can come in. Now, it takes a real change at the leadership level, at all levels, “said the federal minister at a press conference on Saturday, on leaving the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Sport.
Judging that it would be “useless to wait before starting a new era”, the chairman of the board of directors of Hockey Canada, Michael Brind’Amour, announced on Saturday that he had submitted his resignation. Hockey Canada has been in hot water since the spring, when it was revealed the organization settled out of court a lawsuit alleging sexual assault by eight players after a 2018 organization gala in London, Ont. .
Mme St-Onge says he “agrees” with Michael Brind’Amour’s statement, when the latter asserts that it is “useless to wait”. “It takes immediate action. It takes more diversity within Hockey Canada, both in leadership and management positions. […] When there are diverse voices around a table, it changes the type of discussions and decisions,” she offered.
We are currently witnessing a movement. I expect there will be profound changes, because the demands of Canadians on them are immense. Everyone wants to see this, this profound culture shift, and an end to toxic masculinity.
Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sports
She also reiterated that beyond the sports federation, “there must be changes in the culture of hockey regarding sexual violence and the culture of silence”.
As for the future of Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith, who refuses to resign, Pascale St-Onge remains cautious, but seems rather favorable to his departure. “People in place need to re-evaluate if each person is the right one to implement this change, because they are pretty much the same people who have been there for the last decade,” she said.
Isabelle Charest believes in it
Also present at the conference on Saturday, the Quebec Minister responsible for Sports, Isabelle Charest, indicated that she believed in a possible renewal at Hockey Canada. “I believe in it, because I think you have to believe in change. I believe we can move things forward. […] What is important for us is to put the conditions in place for the changes to take place,” she said.
Mme Charest also recalled that Quebec set up the Independent Complaints Officer two years ago, a government mechanism that precisely wants “to ensure that victims and people who have been in a situation of abuse, harassment or assault have a place to get the resources. “I have confidence that the sports system in Canada, and in Quebec, can improve,” said the minister.
In its last budget, Ottawa allocated $16 million to create the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. The ministers also discussed during their meeting the “need to offer” the same mechanism in all the provinces, affirmed Minister St-Onge.
At the Bloc Québécois, the critic for sports, Sébastien Lemire, affirmed on Saturday that “the leaders of Hockey Canada will have proven in recent months that they are not up to the changes required, in order to put an end to the toxic culture within the organization in their handling of sexual assault cases.
“The bond of trust is broken and the profound changes needed in the whole structure of Hockey Canada call for a complete renewal of the direction of the organization. This resignation is a first step from which a major cleanup will have to follow within the management team and the board of directors,” insisted Mr. Lemire.