By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on October 10, 2022.

OTTAWA—A fish stinks from the head. In order to fix the Hockey Canada mess, the organization’s president needs to go.

Scott Smith has been fully responsible for the day-to-day operations of Hockey Canada for the past 15 years as chief operating officer. He became president in 2016 and CEO this year. He has been at the helm during the use of secret funds designed to bury sexual assault allegations against players.

Yet the board of directors seems to think he is the person to lead them out of the mess that he has been directly involved in creating.

What is really painful is how Hockey Canada officials seemed to think that putting a female face forward to defend the status quo is the best way to communicate their willingness to change.

BS walks and money talks. With the departure of key sponsors like Canadian Tire, Scotiabank, Tim Hortons, Telus, and more, Hockey Canada must realize that this exercise is not simply about putting lipstick on a pig.

There needs to be fundamental, cultural change in the organization, and that means a complete overhaul of the operational and management structure.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has even weighed in, suggesting that the organization should be replaced by something called Canada Hockey.

Quebec and Ontario affiliates have already halted funding to the national body. It won’t be long before other provinces follow suit.

The acting chair of the board of directors, lawyer Andrea Skinner, probably wishes she never took on the job.

It’s one thing to be hockey captain of a women’s university team. It is another to root out what’s gone rotten at Hockey Canada and fix it.

The organization hired an expensive communications team in preparation for last week’s grilling by a parliamentary committee.

But the doubling down strategy adopted by Skinner did little to elicit sympathy from Members of Parliament.

If anything, Skinner’s comments added fuel to the fire when she questioned who would turn on the lights at local arenas if Hockey Canada did not exist.

She also sought to deflect attention from the internal problems at the organization by claiming that hockey was being scapegoated “as a centrepiece for toxic culture.”

It wasn’t exactly the mea culpa that most Parliamentarians were waiting for.

Skinner claimed that there should be no changes in leadership, stating “it would be very impactful in a negative way to all our boys and girls who are playing hockey. Will the lights stay on at the rink? I don’t know. We can’t predict that. To me, it is not a risk worth taking.”

No one on the parliamentary committee agreed with her. Their negative reaction was so visceral that even the prime minister weighed in several times, suggesting that none of the members of the Hockey Canada organization were irreplaceable.

If you review the board membership, you should not be surprised that no one has actually demanded Smith’s resignation.

From the interim chair to the members of the board, most appear to have been chosen for their interest in the sport, and not their management skills.

From the former reeve of Eckville, Alta., to manager of community services for the City of Kenora, Ont., from a trustee on the library board in Lampman, Sask., to a volunteer of the year in Miltonvale Park, P.E.I., board members’ main credential is they once coached or played hockey.

The majority of board members do not appear to have experience in culture change or organizational transformation, precisely the skills that are needed in the current climate.

As long as government and sponsorship money kept pouring in, the organization did not need a strong board.

But given the current mess they have created for themselves, Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge is right: the members need to fix this organization.

Provincial affiliates refusing to send along their $3 registration fee for each minor league player is a good place to start.

The sport minister was blunt, seeking the resignation of the full leadership at the national level. “I hope they understand the message and leave before they burn the place to the ground,” she said upon leaving cabinet on Oct. 6.

Multiple corporations have withdrawn their support, as have former hockey players, including Sheldon Kennedy who has called on all board members and those on the operational side to step down.

The World Juniors are coming to Halifax and Moncton over the Christmas season.

If Hockey Canada refuses to fire Smith, the financial viability of that series will be threatened.

It may be time for Canada Hockey.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Hopefully, the minster’s audit will shine a little light into the dark corners of hockey’s dirty, little secrets.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on July 18, 2022.

OTTAWA—Hockey is us.

When Canada’s minister of sport announces plans to get tough with hockey harassment, follow the money.

Federal Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge ordered a forensic audit into Hockey Canada last month after it was revealed the organization settled a lawsuit with a woman claiming sexual assault by eight members of the 2018 world junior hockey team.

The audit was intended to uncover whether any federal money was used in the settlement which the minister characterized as a “cover up.”

The audit must have hit a nerve because on July 14, Hockey Canada announced it was reopening the investigation. It issued an open letter promising a new inquiry into the allegations, to be led by an unnamed independent third party.

Hockey Canada also said it would require all players, team staff and volunteers to participate in mandatory sexual violence and consent training.

Consent training? Even the inclusion of that phrase should raise eyebrows.

This is not the first time that hockey has been asked to clean up its act. But with millions of dollars of federal subsidies on the line, apparently the motivation is more robust.

With assets of more than $150-million, Hockey Canada received $14-million in federal funding in the past two years, the CBC revealed recently. While booking a $13.2-million surplus, the not-for-profit organization’s federal support included $3.4-million in emergency COVID subsidies.

During the same period, the CFL was denied a COVID loan, which forced it to cancel the 2020 Grey Cup.

To put the inequity into perspective, according to Sport Canada’s website, minor football was funded to the tune of $605,800 in the last fiscal year.

That’s $14-million versus $605,800.

More than 20 years ago, as federal sport minister, I introduced a requirement for all national sport organizations to establish gender-equity standards for women in sport. Failure to do so came with financial penalties.

So why should Canada still be struggling with the issue of sexual harassment in sport, with a special emphasis on hockey?

Perhaps hockey is in a league of its own.

It is Canada’s nationally designated winter sport. Canada’s national summer sport is lacrosse.

Suffice to say that when it comes to self-image, hockey is the game we all love to play.

Except if you are gay or Black.

Current statistics in the NHL show that there are more than 2,000 professional players in the NHL.

Almost half of them are Canadian, but the number of racialized players is less than five per cent.

According to an article in USA TODAY, there are only 26 Black players in that group. Of that number, 20 are Canadian and six are American.

When it comes to gay players, the numbers are even more pathetic.

The first ever openly gay NHL prospect came out last year.

Luke Prokop became the first player under contract with the NHL to openly speak out about his sexual preference in a social media post, “today I am proud to tell everyone that I am gay. … From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player, and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams.”

His announcement was met with huge support from head office, with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stating that “anybody who is connected to the NHL … we want everybody to know that whoever you are, you have a place in our family.”

But Prokop’s courageous revelation was not followed by a stampede of others. He currently plays with the Edmonton Oil Kings, the junior partner to the Edmonton Oilers, and there have been no more revelations by NHLers.

The NHL does host Pride parties, in support of the LGBTQ community. But why has it been so hard to find a single NHL gay player among more than 2,000 on respective team rosters?

Is this who we truly are as Canadians? Why are we so complacent when it comes to the lack of diversity in our national sport?

In reality, the NHL is no longer only Canada’s game. Even though almost half the professional players hail from our home, the television audience and team distribution is clearly American.

Why does hockey still get top billing when it comes to government financial support, while the CFL was spurned when it came to Canada’s longest-running sporting event, the Grey Cup?

Hopefully, the minster’s audit will shine a little light into the dark corners of hockey’s dirty, little secrets.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.