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Hockey Canada lacks transparency, needs new leadership: sport minister

Oct 3, 2022 | 1:29 PM

OTTAWA — Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge is once again calling for change in Hockey Canada’s leadership in the wake of new allegations against the troubled sporting body. 

The Globe and Mail reported Monday that Hockey Canada put player registration fees toward a second fund used to cover sexual assault claims and other lawsuits. The news follows revelations about another fund, known as the National Equity Fund.

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, St-Onge said the latest news shows a lack of transparency and that the organization has treated sexual violence as an “insurance problem.” 

It was revealed in the July hearings that Hockey Canada had paid out $7.6 million in nine settlements related to sexual assault and sexual abuse claims since 1989.

St-Onge says the organization’s executives need to resign because they cannot rebuild the trust needed to move forward. 

Some of Hockey Canada’s past and present board chairs are set to appear in front of a federal government committee Tuesday about how the sporting body has handled allegations of sexual assault.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2022.

The Canadian Press