Hockey Canada has hired former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell to lead a review of the organization’s governance structure amid growing calls for its leadership to step down over how it has handled alleged sexual assault cases.
The sport’s national governing body is facing its cultural issues and the settlement of a $3.5 million lawsuit over a 2018 alleged group sexual assault Case involving Canadian Hockey League players, including some members of Canada’s junior world team at the time.
“We have heard Canadians loud and clear and we are committed to making the necessary changes so that we can be the organization Canadians have come to expect,” wrote Michael Brind’Amour, chairman of Hockey Canada’s board of directors, in a statement.
“This comprehensive governance review is a critical step in restoring Canadians’ confidence and ensuring we have the right people and systems in place to execute our plan of action to improve the Canadian game.”
The announcement comes as smaller hockey associations begin to roll back and cancel funding. Major sponsors have pulled out and a new police investigation has been launched into an alleged sexual assault by a group in Halifax in 2003 involving World Junior players.
Conservative MP John Nater, who sits on the parliamentary committee investigating Hockey Canada’s handling of sexual assault claims, said he continues to call for “an immediate leadership change at Hockey Canada” despite the new review.
“Those responsible for Hockey Canada for the past 20 years are not the right people to oversee this much-needed change,” Nater wrote in a statement to CBC News. “Hockey Canada’s current leadership has shown that they care more about protecting themselves than finding the truth or challenging the culture of silence.”
Hockey Canada President and COO Scott Smith has resisted stepping down despite calls from several political parties. Speaking to a parliamentary committee last week, Smith pledged to drive a culture change with the organization.
The new third-party review’s mandate is to provide recommendations to ensure Hockey Canada follows the “best practices of a national sports organization of similar size, reach and influence in Canada,” Brind’Armour wrote.
The review will also look at the controversial “National Equity Fund,” which has been used to pay nine out of 21 settlements over sex abuse allegations since 1989. The fund was used to settle the maximum of the $3.5 million lawsuit over the alleged 2018 sexual assault.
Hockey parents and governing bodies were outraged to learn the fund consists of a portion of their registration fees. At least one Local associations in Quebec cut funding about concerns and encouraged others to do the same.
Cromwell served as a Justice of the Supreme Court from 2008 to 2016 and was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada after leaving office. He currently works at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) as a public sector arbitrator.
So was Cromwell tapped by former Rep. Jody Wilson-Raybould during the SNC-Lavalin affair circa 2019 to advise her on the limits of attorney-client privilege after she resigned from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.
BLG’s Victoria Prince and Nadia Effendi will assist Cromwell with the review, Hockey Canada said.
Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge said she was looking forward to reading Justice Cromwell’s findings.
“Hockey Canada hired a very credible person to review their organization,” she said.
CLOCK / Hockey Canada has paid 21 sex misconduct settlements
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather says the review is a positive step if it is made public and the process is transparent. However, he said the published briefing lacks a clear review of the board’s processes related to the settlement agreements for sexual assault claims.
“Neither do I think that should be used as an excuse for not taking action to address the executives who were involved in the mishandling of these issues through November,” Housefather said.
Hockey Canada officials said the organization has paid nearly $9 million in settlements to 21 people alleging sexual misconduct since 1989.
NDP MP Peter Julian calls Hockey Canada’s latest announcement “a tactic to delay the work that needs to be done to fix fundamental problems”.
He is also asking that the parliamentary committee investigating Hockey Canada resume this month and call on the three sports ministers, who have been in office since 2018, for their oversight of Hockey Canada.
Hockey Canada disclosed the allegation to Sport Canada in 2018, but the department never informed the Office of the Federal Secretary of Sports. Then-Sports Secretary Kristy Duncan had issued an order that the Secretary’s office should be notified.
“I believe our next step should also include, the three Ministers for Sport at the time, Secretary Duncan, who gave the original directive that any information about sexual violence or sexual abuse should go directly to her office, and then Secretary Steven Guilbeault, ahead of us to have and Minister St-Onge.”
St-Onge has previously testified before the committee and today reiterated that she has ordered all allegations reported to her office and is working with Sport Canada to ensure they have “all the tools and expertise”.
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CLOCK | Woman says she cooperated with police investigation into alleged sexual assault
The complainant, who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Canadian ice hockey players on the 2018 World Junior Team, said she fully cooperated with a police investigation into her case at all times – although Hockey Canada originally said she did not.
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