Feds freeze Hockey Canada’s funding amid sexual assault allegations: Minister of Sport

The federal government is freezing its funding of Hockey Canada amid the firestorm around the organization’s handling of sexual assault allegations.

In a statement on Wednesday, Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge said the organization’s funding will be restored once it discloses the “recommendations of improvement” provided by a third-party law firm hired to investigate the alleged incident.

Hockey Canada must also become “signatories to the Office of the Sports Integrity Commissioner,” a new government agency with the power to independently investigate abuse complaints and sanction inappropriate behaviour.

“What this means is that Hockey Canada will receive no more payments or new funding from Sport Canada until they comply with these conditions,” the minister said.

The move comes after Hockey Canada president Scott Smith and outgoing CEO Tom Renney were grilled by members of Parliament earlier this week during a Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage hearing into the organization’s response to an alleged sexual assault involving eight players and the subsequent out-of-court settlement.

“On Monday, Hockey Canada’s testimony did not provide us with sufficient information. We did not learn much, and what we did learn is deeply troubling,” St-Onge said.

“Hockey Canada said they would not share with the committee the advice they received from the independent firm (Henein & Hutchison), or how they plan to respond. We also heard that the independent investigation was not completed, nor were the 8 John Doe players identified. This is unacceptable.”

Then later Wednesday, the House of Commons unanimously approved a motion by Bloc Quebecois MP Sebastien Lemire to pursue an independent investigation that will look into how Hockey Canada dealt with the allegations.

“(The aim is) to figure out if this was an isolated event or if there are shortcomings with the way Hockey Canada handles complaints of sexual assault, sexual harassment and other types of misconduct,” Lemire said in French.

Hockey Canada quietly settled the lawsuit last month after a woman claimed she was assaulted by members of the country’s 2018 gold-medal winning world junior hockey team in June of that year at a Hockey Canada function in London, Ont.

The woman, now 24, was seeking $3.55 million in damages from Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and the unnamed players. Details of the settlement have not been made public, but Smith said Monday no government money was used.

“Hockey Canada’s testimony also revealed they had another case of alleged sexual misconduct by players within the last five to six years,” St-Onge said. “I cannot accept this standard as business as usual in our national sport organizations, and Canadians should not either.”

The allegations haven’t been proven in court.

Hockey Canada receives millions in funding from the federal government, but in testimony at a House of Commons committee, executives say no federal funds were used in a settlement over a sexual assault lawsuit.

The government has been conducting a financial audit of the organization.