After several weeks of political and financial pressure, Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith finally tendered his resignation on Tuesday. A departure that had become inevitable.
• Read also: Hockey Canada: Bauer’s turn to leave
A decision desired by several players in the hockey community, but also by the federal Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Despite harsh criticism of Hockey Canada’s governance and methods in recent months, Smith clung to his job. He had officially obtained the job on July 1, after the retirement of Tom Renney.
However, the 55-year-old had worked at Hockey Canada since 1995. He was well versed in the mores and customs of the federation over the past two decades.
$1 million salary
According to multiple sources, Smith had an annual salary of $1 million. In addition to his base salary, he pocketed bonuses linked to the performance of Canadian teams on the international scene.
Smith isn’t the only one jumping ship. All of the remaining members of the Hockey Canada Board of Directors have decided to step down to make way for a new administration.
Archival photo
Hockey Canada chief executive Scott Smith and the board of directors resigned en bloc on Tuesday in the wake of the sex scandals that have rocked the federation for several months.
The composition of the new council will not be known before the virtual election on December 17. An interim management committee will take over until then while the former members fulfill their fiduciary duties.
Retiring Board Members
The bar kick
Since the news of sex scandals in July, Smith has been the target of much criticism. However, the board of directors has always refused to give the necessary push to put its organization in order.
Instead, he continued to support Smith and his minions. In recent months, two presidents have tendered their resignation: Michael Brind’Amour and Andrea Skinner. The two testified before the parliamentary committee last week and their responses were controversial.
After learning of several disturbing facts in a gang rape story with Junior Team Canada in 2018, federal sports minister Pascale St-Onge sounded the alarm.
Changes are needed and it is urgent. Seeing the leaders’ inaction in the face of his demands, St-Onge made an important gesture. At the end of June, she suspended government grants to Hockey Canada.
Pressure from sponsors
Then, it was the turn of the major sponsors to put pressure on the band at Smith. Several companies have reassessed their partnership. In particular, they decided not to pay a penny to men’s programs.
Tuesday, in The Globe and Mailwe learned that it was Bauer’s turn to end his lucrative association with Hockey Canada.
In addition, several provincial federations have announced that they are suspending the remittance of their annual dues to Hockey Canada.
Financially, Smith and the board had their hands tied. The millions in grants and sponsorships no longer fit into the coffers of their organization. A strong enough reason to question their legitimacy.
A beginning…
Will the departures of Smith and board members be enough to end decades of bad governance? It’s to do.
This is only the beginning of a major clean-up within this federation. At least, we must hope so.
- Listen to Isabelle Ducharme, General Manager of SportsQuébec in an interview with Mario Dumont on QUB radio:
Hockey Quebec wants to be part of the solution
Hockey Quebec welcomed the decision of the general manager and the members of the board of directors of Hockey Canada to submit their resignation on Tuesday.
“This outcome, which seemed inevitable to us, will allow the organization to take a new look at the challenges to be met,” said the Quebec federation in a press release.
The Belle Province organization also intends to get involved in the process that will lead to the composition of a new board of directors at Hockey Canada.
Photo archives, QMI Agency
Hockey Quebec, whose general manager is Jocelyn Thibault, reacted in a press release to say that the resignation of the leaders of Hockey Canada had become inevitable in their eyes.
“Now, it is essential to ensure that future directors take concrete action to effect in-depth change in terms of respect, integrity and culture. We will be active in proposing solutions, attentive to the next steps, and we will represent the interests of our players, parents, volunteers and participants.
Last week, Hockey Quebec decided to no longer give an amount of $ 3 to its national counterpart for each registration, considering that the latter was unable to modify the culture of its sport with its current organization chart.
Danièle Sauvageau to the rescue?
Involved in Quebec and Canadian hockey for several decades, Danièle Sauvageau confirmed on 98.5 FM that she was ready to lend a hand to Hockey Canada, while emphasizing the importance of listening to employees who are not at the top of the pyramid.
“It’s my sport, I’m passionate about it,” she said on Tuesday. I am available to contribute not to this change, but to this renewal. We have to go to the lowest depths to be able to rebuild and I am ready to contribute.
“People who work at Hockey Canada – we’re not talking about leadership, senior management – are bruised, they’re tired. They try to carry an organization at arm’s length. They are passionate about pursuing for the right reasons. But these people, we do not speak to them.
A unanimous reaction
In addition, like its Quebec counterpart, the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF) was delighted with this major clean-up within the staff of Hockey Canada.
“The Ontario Hockey Federation recognizes the changes made by Hockey Canada and believes this is a good first step in addressing the challenges ahead,” reads a statement released Tuesday.
“This is a defining moment in the history of our sport. The importance of rebuilding the confidence of Canadians, whether on or off the ice, cannot be underestimated.”
Hockey New Brunswick also called this decision “positive”, in addition to insisting on the actions that the Maritime federation itself has taken to “promote cultural change in the sport”.
“We do this by engaging subject matter experts on the topics of sexual violence, masculinity, abuse and discrimination,” she said.
Hockey Nova Scotia, which had followed in the footsteps of Hockey Quebec by announcing the suspension of its contributions by registration to Hockey Canada, underlined that the departure of the heads of the organization was in no way an end.
“The last few times have been very difficult for people involved in all spheres of hockey. We recognize that serious issues need to be addressed and there is still a lot of work to be done to improve hockey culture.”
– With QMI Agency