(Calgary) Canada’s new sports minister is not ready to sing the praises of Hockey Canada for its efforts to change the culture of the sport.
“Nobody will hear me congratulate anybody on what’s been done so far because we’re not there yet,” Carla Qualtrough told The Canadian Press. “Children are still at risk and we can do better. »
The MP for Delta, British Columbia, who was reappointed to the Sports portfolio in July after serving there from 2015 to 2017, was among the speakers on Friday at Hockey Canada’s Beyond the Boards Summit in Calgary .
This two-day summit, expected to be part of a series of summits, will focus on toxic masculinity and the culture of elite men’s hockey.
Hockey Canada became a lightning rod in what Pascale St-Onge, Carla Qualtrough’s predecessor, called Canada’s safe sport crisis last year when it emerged the organization had settled a lawsuit with a woman who alleged he was gang-raped by members of the 2018 World Junior Championships men’s hockey team at a gala event.
These allegations have not been proven in court. The outcry was fueled by the revelation that a portion of minor hockey registration fees had been used to settle such lawsuits.
The leaders of Hockey Canada were put against the wall in Ottawa. Federal funding for the organization was withheld until it was determined that no public funds were used to settle lawsuits.
The president and CEO left the organization and the entire board of directors was replaced.
Hugh Fraser, new chair of the board of directors, Katherine Henderson, new CEO, Sheldon Kennedy, an abuse survivor, Teresa Fowler, academic researcher, Émilie Castonguay, assistant general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, Melody Davidson, expert in hockey, player agent Bayne Pettinger and Bill Proudman, co-founder of White Men as Full Diversity Partners, are also among the summit’s speaker lineup.
All provincial and territorial members of Hockey Canada, the Canadian Junior Hockey League, the Canadian Hockey League, the American Hockey League, the NHL, the International Ice Hockey Federation and the new Professional Women’s Hockey League have indicated that representatives would attend the summit, said Pat McLaughlin, Hockey Canada’s chief operating officer.
“This is the elite of hockey, so the high-level message is: step up and get the job done,” said Carla Qualtrough.
“You have to show bold leadership, restore trust in the system, and everyone is watching us, and we have to do the right thing. Everyone deserves a safe, welcoming and inclusive sports experience, period. »
In March, a standing heritage committee unanimously passed a motion demanding that Hockey Canada provide the final report from an independent law firm investigating allegations regarding the 2018 junior team.
An amendment to the motion required the report to first be seen by the committee’s law clerk, who would redact names for privacy purposes.
Carla Qualtrough did not know the status of the report, but said she plans to discuss it with the Hockey Canada board of directors during the summit.
