Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the posturing of Hockey Canada — an organization accused of mishandling allegations of gang rapes — “boggles the mind,” while the federal sports minister says it’s time for members of the embattled organization to “clean the house.”
Pressure is mounting on ice hockey’s national governing body for a change in its leadership after a widely-panned appearance by one of its executives in front of a parliamentary committee Tuesday.
Interim board chair Andrea Skinner defended Hockey Canada, saying it has an “excellent reputation” and arguing against scapegoating “hockey as a centrepiece for toxic culture.”
Skinner said Hockey Canada won’t be making any managerial changes, defying a request from federal Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge — who has said she believes mass resignations at the governing body are necessary to restore public trust.
Andrea Skinner, interim chair of the board of directors at Hockey Canada, appears virtually as a witness before the heritage committee in Ottawa on Tuesday. She said the organization won’t be making any managerial changes. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
“I think that would be very impactful in a negative way to all of our boys and girls who are playing hockey,” Skinner said Tuesday.
“Will the lights stay on at the rink? I don’t know. We can’t predict that. To me, it’s not a risk worth taking.”
That response seemed to mystify the prime minister.
“I think it — it boggles the mind that Hockey Canada is continuing to dig in its heels,” he said Wednesday before heading into a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill.
“Parents across the country are losing faith or have lost faith in Hockey Canada. Certainly, politicians here in Ottawa have lost faith in Hockey Canada.”
In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics, St-Onge said she felt saddened by the fact that Skinner, a woman, has become the “face of the boys club” and she and Hockey Canada are not grasping the seriousness of the situation.
“We’re witnessing an organization that seems to be more interested in protecting themselves and their jobs than protecting the public, the women and the players in their own organization,” St-Onge told host Vassy Kapelos.
Hockey Québec cuts ties
At least one regional federation has heeded St-Onge’s call for change.
Hockey Québec voted Tuesday night to cut ties with Hockey Canada in the wake of new allegations against the sporting body.
The Globe and Mail, citing documents obtained by the newspaper, reported Monday that Hockey Canada put player registration fees toward a second fund “for matters including but not limited to sexual abuse.”
WATCH | Calls for leadership change:
Trudeau, sport minister call for Hockey Canada leadership change
5 hours ago
Duration 8:50
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge have thrown their support behind Hockey Québec’s decision to cut ties with Hockey Canada following new allegations against the sporting body.
In a resolution first obtained by La Presse, Quebec’s provincial hockey federation states that it no longer has “confidence in the ability of Hockey Canada to act effectively to change the culture of hockey with the structure in place.”
It also said it will no longer transfer funds to the national organization.
“I think the decision that Hockey Québec took shows that reform [is] being engaged. It also sends the message to the leaders at the organization that are holding on to their jobs that Hockey Canada doesn’t belong to them, it also belongs to their members and they want change,” St-Onge said Wednesday.
“Since the leaders of Hockey Canada are holding on to their jobs, the voting members need to clean the house.”
CBC News has reached out to the other 12 regional hockey organizations for comment.
The executive director of the Ontario Hockey Federation said the group is monitoring the situation.
WATCH | Testimony ‘appalling, Singh says:
Singh says Hockey Canada testimony was ‘appalling’
4 hours ago
Duration 1:02
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he is ‘shocked at the complete lack of understanding’ within Hockey Canada of public outrage over sexual assault cases in the sport.
Phillip McKee said the group already had requested through Michael Brind’Amour, the former chair of Hockey Canada’s board of directors (who has since resigned), that Hockey Canada not collect the $3 participant assessment fee for the 2022-2023 season.
“He confirmed he would take it to the board of directors. It is our understanding now that this request was never directed to the board before his departure. Based on this information, the OHF has once again, reaffirmed our formal request,” McKee wrote in an email to CBC News.
“The OHF remains committed to protecting the game of hockey on and off the ice this season for our members. We are also committed to being transparent about our operations to our members, the communities, volunteers, families and players who rely us to play the game they love.”
A spokesperson for Hockey Saskatchewan says it has “no comment at this time.”
Hockey Nova Scotia said its board of directors will meet next week to review next steps.
Hockey Canada has faced a torrent of criticism over its secretive use of player registration fees and other investments to compensate sexual assault complainants.
This summer, after a number of news outlets broke stories about the existence of these funds, Hockey Canada revealed it had paid out $8.9 million in settlements to 21 complainants with sexual misconduct claims since 1989.
Through a review of public records,CBC’s The Fifth Estate has identified at least 15 cases of alleged group sexual assault involving junior hockey players that have been investigated by police since 1989 — half of which surfaced in the past decade.
WATCH | The Fifth Estate investigates sexual assault in hockey:
Anatomy of a Scandal
6 days ago
Duration 44:25
Hockey Canada is on the defensive over allegations that some members of its gold-medal winning World Junior team in 2018 took part in a group sexual assault, and the organization didn’t do enough to hold players accountable. The Fifth Estate examines the national shame inside Canada’s game, and the disturbing history that suggests this was not an isolated incident.
Conservative MP John Nater, a member of the Commons heritage committee, said he hopes other provincial organizations follow Hockey Quebec’s lead.
“I think we need meaningful change at the top of Hockey Canada. Obviously, the CEO has to go and other management has to go as well,” he said before his own party’s Wednesday caucus meeting.
“Right now, we need to put pressure on the organization, we need to put pressure on the 13 voting members to ensure that there’s a board in place that’s going to make those meaningful changes at the top.”
His Conservative caucus colleague MP Kevin Waugh, a former television sports journalist, called Hockey Canada’s response to calls for a change in management “arrogant.”
“They’ve doubled down and it’s disgusting, really,” he said, before citing Hockey Canada’s decision to hire Navigator, a crisis management firm, to help it deal with the wave of bad press.
“They spent a lot of money on Navigator. It’s a company that’s trying to put the narrative of that they’re great guys, nothing’s wrong, we’re going to change, everything will be fine. But that’s not the case.”
MP calls Skinner’s comments ‘Trump-like’
Skinner’s appearance before the heritage committee on Tuesday triggered bewilderment, sometimes even laughter, among the assembled MPs — who, despite their partisan differences, were universally critical of Hockey Canada at the meeting.
Bloc Québécois MP Sébastien Lemire said Hockey Canada is “living in a bubble” and is “disconnected” from public opinion.
Nater read aloud excerpts from Hockey Canada board meeting minutes that showed the organization was intent on “shifting the narrative” around the scandal.
“Settlement payments must be viewed in a positive manner, not a negative manner. Repetition required to state the narrative,” Nater read from the minutes.
Pascale St-Onge, the federal minister of sport, speaks with reporters before question period in the foyer of the House of Commons on Tuesday. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
The Ontario MP told the committee he found “it deeply troubling that the organization is more concerned with shifting the narrative than actually meaningfully implementing change within this organization.”
Skinner, a lawyer by training, said the media was trying to turn the public against Hockey Canada and its leadership team by publishing stories critical of its handling of violent sexual assault in the sport.
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather described Skinner’s efforts to blame the media and MPs for her organization’s woes as “Trump-like.”
Audit of spending approved
St. Onge has agreed to audit Hockey Canada’s finances over the past six years in response to allegations that the sports body’s directors availed themselves of high-cost hotels, dinners and jewelry.
Last month, NDP MP Peter Julian wrote to the minister asking her to “make sure that Hockey Canada uses government funds and hockey parents’ registration fees in an accountable and transparent manner.”
Questioned by Julian before the committee, Brind’Amour confirmed that championship rings for board members cost $3,000 each.
“I believe this is a situation that arises when our national teams have the good fortune to win a championship,” Brind’Amour said.
WATCH | MPs demand new leadership at Hockey Canada:
MPs across party lines demand new leadership at Hockey Canada
2 days ago
Duration 7:24
Today, all parties grilled the interim chair of Hockey Canada’s board of directors, Andrea Skinner. Federal MPs, as well as Minister for Sport Pascale St-Onge are demanding change in the leadership of the organization, something Skinner said she has no plans to do.
OTTAWA – American receiver Justin Hardy will miss the Ottawa Redblacks’ regular-season finale Friday.
Hardy, who leads the CFL in receptions (97) and is second in receiving yards (1,343), was listed off Ottawa’s depth chart Thursday. Hardy was named Wednesday as the Redblacks’ nominee for the league’s outstanding player award.
American Andrew Miller will start in Hardy’s place.
Ottawa (8-7-1) concludes its regular season hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-10). The Redblacks have already clinched third in the East and will visit the Toronto Argonauts (10-7) in the division semifinal Nov. 2.
Hamilton has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Incumbent Dru Brown is listed as Ottawa’s starting quarterback.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — AC Milan’s weekend match at Bologna in Italy’s top soccer league has been postponed, Bologna officials announced Thursday following extensive flooding in the central Italian city.
The Serie A match had been scheduled for Saturday.
Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, large parts of which have been hard hit by torrential rains and bad weather for days.
The game was not immediately rescheduled.
“Following the flood that affected Bologna, intense work is underway to clean up the situation,” the city of Bologna said while announcing the game postponement on X.
MONTREAL – On a night when New York’s top line was missing in action, the bit players grabbed the spotlight and led the Rangers to a commanding 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
“That’s the kind of team we have,” said Filip Chytil, who led the Rangers with a pair of power-play goals Tuesday. “The guys on the top line had chances but when they don’t score we have three other lines to pick up the slack.”
The Rangers’ dominance was reflected in the amount of time they spent in the Canadiens zone and their 45-23 edge in shots.
“If you’ve watched us practice, you know that’s something we work on all the time,” said Chytil. “When we get the puck, we want to hold on to it.”
The Rangers grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Mika Zibanejad at the 56-second mark and Jonny Brodzinski at 2:05, but it was Montreal which pressed the play in the first minute.
“I thought we had a good start but they turned it around on us,” said Montreal coach Martin St. Louis.
Lane Hutson controlled the puck off the opening faceoff and had two early shots, both of which were blocked by New York’s Jacob Trouba.
“That was huge for us,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. “We know (Trouba) can generate offence but he can come up with those big defensive plays.”
Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault exited at 11:05 of the first period after giving up four goals on 10 shots. Zibanejad, Brodzinski, Chytil and Reilly Smith all scored on the Habs’ starter.
His replacement, Cayden Primeau, stopped 33 of 35 shots, giving up goals to Braden Schneider, Kaapo Kakko and Chytil.
Nick Suzuki scored both of the Montreal goals, his first strikes of the season
“It didn’t really feel like a 7-2 game until the end there when you look up at the scoreboard,” Suzuki said. “But we obviously keep digging ourselves these holes, and against a good team like that, our details early on have to be really sharp. And we were definitely a little sleepy coming out and they jumped on us.”
Hutson led the Canadiens in ice time with 24:10 but this wasn’t one of his better games. Smith scored on a breakaway after taking the puck off Hutson’s stick and the rookie was minus-4 for the night.
After Tuesday’s morning practice, the Canadiens announced forward Juraj Slafkovsky will miss at least a week with an upper-body injury. Defenceman Kaiden Guhle missed a second consecutive game with an upper-body injury but the team said it isn’t a long-term ailment.
The injury situation didn’t get any better after Trouba flattened Justin Barron at 7:11 of the third period. Barron didn’t return to the ice but there was no immediate word on his condition.
The Rangers welcomed back defenceman Ryan Lindgren, who made his season debut after missing five games with a jaw injury.
Before the game, 14 players from the Canadiens’ team that won four consecutive Stanley Cups between 1976 and 1979 were introduced at the Bell Centre. Among them were Hockey Hall of Fame members Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Bob Gainey and Ken Dryden.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
