Front Burner - From grade ‘A’ to gone, why Hockey Canada caved

Episode Date: October 12, 2022

After months of pressure by MPs, corporate sponsors and its own members across the country, Hockey Canada announced on Tuesday that its CEO and entire board was stepping down. A parliamentary committee has been probing Hockey Canada’s handling of 2018 sexual assault allegations since July. During that time, further allegations of group sexual assault have emerged, and Hockey Canada has confirmed a fund that draws from minor hockey memberships was used to settle claims. A new wave of financial and political pressure began last week, after then-interim board chair Andrea Skinner spoke to the committee. Her defence of the organization’s leadership included giving CEO Scott Smith an “A” grade for his performance – drawing laughter from some MPs. Today on Front Burner, CBC senior reporter Ashley Burke joins us to explain why Hockey Canada resisted the push for new leadership for so long, and what still needs to be done before we see substantial change in hockey culture.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi, I'm Allie Janes, in for Jamie Poisson. Our board, frankly, does not share the view that senior leadership should be replaced on the basis of what we consider to be substantial misinformation and unduly cynical attacks. So this was Hockey Canada interim board chair Andrea Skinner speaking to a parliamentary committee last Tuesday. As she battled questions about the organization's handling of sexual assault allegations and its reluctance to change leadership, it seemed like MPs and Hockey Canada were in different worlds.

At one point, an MP asked Skinner to grade the performance of CEO Scott Smith. I'm a hard marker, and I think that the circumstances in which Mr. Smith has been working have been really extraordinary and difficult. I would say that he's conducting himself as an A in the circumstances. Skinner resigned on Saturday after only a couple of months in the role. But that hearing began another wave of suspended sponsorships, a revolt from provincial and territorial members, and cross-party political condemnation. And yesterday, we got the news that Hockey Canada's critics have been waiting for. Its CEO and all of its board are stepping down. been waiting for. Its CEO and all of its board are stepping down. To sort through all of the details, today I'm joined again by CBC senior reporter Ashley Burke. We're going to discuss why Hockey Canada has dug in their heels for so long and whether these resignations will amount to Hi, Ashley. Thanks so much for coming back on the pod.

Thanks for having me, Ellie. So we're talking just after big news broke on Tuesday. And after months of pressure, what kinds of changes is Hockey Canada now making to its leadership? Well, yeah, amid mounting pressure, they're no longer holding on. In a statement today, Hockey Canada says that it recognizes urgent need for new leadership and perspectives. And as you mentioned, its CEO, Scott Smith, and the entire board of directors are stepping down. And Hockey Canada is now setting up what it calls an interim management committee until they select a new board and a new CEO to lead

the organization. And reactions just starting to come in. I just got off the phone with Conservative MP Kevin Waugh, who sits in the parliamentary committee that's been reviewing Hockey Canada. And he told me that the board should have resigned months ago, that they've done considerable damage waiting to this point until so many sponsors have pulled out. Well, and I mean, just speaking on that point of, you know, this having gone on for so long, I'd love to talk a little bit more about, you know, what's been going on recently that's made the pressure just insurmountable for them because they have resisted making these changes for a long time. So, firstly, just remind me, why were MPs accusing the organization of mishandling sexual assault allegations at these committee hearings? Well, this all started in May, and that's when TSN's request had first revealed the organization was facing this $3.5 million lawsuit. Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League have settled a lawsuit involving eight CHL players, including members of the 2018 gold medal winning world junior team. The allegations not proven in court indicated

a woman was sexually assaulted while intoxicated at a June 2018 event in London, Ontario. And her lawsuit alleged that she was heavily intoxicated, that the men made her film a consent video, that they told her to shower after the alleged sexual assault, and that they brought their golf clubs to the room, which she considered a further act of intimidation. And what stunned hockey players was learning that a fund made up in part of the registration fees had paid for the settlement. And Hockey Canada, after that, testified at a number of parliamentary committees where they also confirmed that they settled 21 cases since 1989 related to sexual abuse claims. That was close to $9 million, and the majority of that was taken out of that fund that used players' registration fees. were settled from the equity fund and from 96, because it only came into existence in 96, to 2022, 12 cases from insurance. And that fund is generated by kids' registration fees, correct? Among other things. And on top of that controversy, there was a lot of other allegations that came to light. I spoke to one source who saw a video back in 2003 of another alleged group sexual assault.

In that case, it involved players on the World Junior team that year and another woman who was heavily intoxicated. Can you just walk me through in detail what you saw in this video? I seen a hockey player of the 2003 World Junior team, a Canadian player, take a video camera and turn it towards himself and say this is going to be a lamb roast. And then him and another player proceeded into a hotel room where there was five or six naked players all masturbating with one person having sex with a girl on a bed who seemed extremely intoxicated. In Halifax, police are now investigating that case. And the CBC's Fifth Estate, they've gone back through all the public records

and they've identified at least 15 cases of alleged group sexual assault involving hockey players dating back to 1989. They found that about half of them have surfaced in the last decade. In all, at least 43 Canadian junior players were involved. Ten of the cases resulted in criminal charges. And only one player was convicted of a lesser charge. So that gives you a bit of the sense of the scope of this. And Minister St-Ange, the Minister of Sport, came out after that story and she said this is a systemic problem, that sexual violence in hockey in Canada is systemic. We've heard those stories before. It's not the first time that we talk about the toxic culture

in hockey, but nothing has been done or not enough has been done in the past 10 years. It's a terrible legacy and we want to see change and I stand by that. Well, and in the push for a change of culture, at least at Hockey Canada, I mean, there have been so many calls for the leadership of this organization to resign, you know, since this past July, including from MPs. Any organization can be saved if there's new blood, if there's new direction. If it's a new organization in name and it's the same people running it, you're in the same boat. Obviously the CEO has to go and other management has to go as well.

What we've seen over the past few months is a complete unwillingness to be transparent, a complete unwillingness to make the changes necessary to ensure that Canadians have trust and faith. But before last week, how much had the leadership actually changed? Well, up until now, not a lot had changed. Tom Rennie stepped down as CEO at the end of June. He was replaced by Scott Smith in July. And Smith has held different leadership positions for decades. And the board's chair, Michael Brindamore, he resigned in August and was replaced by Andrea Skinner. He said his term was already going to be up in a couple of months, but that he listened to the public and he felt there was no need to wait for what he called a new era. So that brings us to this parliamentary committee hearing that happened last Tuesday, and that included the interim board chair that you just mentioned, Andrea Skinner.

And so when MPs questioned her about Hockey Canada's lack of change, how did Skinner try and defend the leadership? Well, I was in the room for that committee hearing and I would describe it as defiant. We heard a whole new line of defense that I hadn't heard before. Andrea Skinner positioned Hockey Canada as the victim. She opened her remarks saying that toxic behavior is a societal problem and that it was counterproductive to use Hockey Canada as a scapegoat.

Suggesting that toxic behavior is somehow a specific hockey problem or to scapegoat. Suggesting that toxic behavior is somehow a specific hockey problem, or to scapegoat hockey as a centerpiece for toxic culture, is in my opinion counterproductive to finding solutions, and risks overlooking the change that needs to be made more broadly to prevent and address toxic behavior, particularly against women. Skinner also said the board of directors doesn't share the view that the senior leadership should be replaced. She blamed the media. She blamed politicians. She kind of described it as a smear campaign and said that if senior leadership resigned, that could put hockey at risk.

I don't think it's in the in the best interest of hockey or Hockey Canada for for this organization to be destroyed. I don't I don't think that a mass exit, if all the board were to resign and if all of senior management to be replaced, who would they be replaced with? What will that mean for hockey? How will that impact the boys and girls? Let me be a little bit more. She even questioned if the lights could stay on at rinks. And then she gave the president and CEO Scott Smith an A for his performance throughout the controversy. I think Mr. Smith did the best that he could. He was as honest as he could be. And I can tell you the MPs in the room, they were stunned. They called it tone deaf. And I don't think that Skinner was able to read the room because she wasn't in it. She appeared virtually. So she wouldn't have seen, you know, what I saw, which was people shaking their heads, some people laughing at answers, some people

gasping. And because she appeared virtually, unlike some of the other Hockey Canada executives, there was even questions by one MP asking if she was getting messages because it looked like she was reading during her testimony. Was she getting messages about how to answer? Question out of curiosity. I'm a civil litigator by trade. And when I'm in court, I watch witnesses and what they're doing. And you don't seem to be looking at the camera when you're answering the question. So, Ms. Skinner, is someone typing answers to you or providing answers to you? I know we said council could assist, but is there someone providing you answers?

Well, as the committee where Mr. Winton is in the room with me, but I have papers spread out all around me. She said she wasn't, but it just kind of shows you how removed she was from what was happening in that room. And as you noted, they had just put her in this position. Hockey Canada just appointed her interim chair in August. So what do you think the organization hoped that Skinner could do in leadership that its previous board chairs couldn't? Well, I think she's a woman, for one. And we heard Pascal Saint-Ange, the minister of sports, say that she was saddened that a woman had become the face of this, defending Hockey Canada, sort of towing the party line.

And she felt that Skinner was being used as a scapegoat herself. Quite frankly, I feel a little bit saddened that it's a woman that's wearing right now that is the face of the boys club problem at Hockey Canada. She came in in 2020. I think she's a scapegoat. I think she has a misunderstanding of the situation that Hockey Canada is in. But one thing for sure, there needs to be new blood. And so after that testimony, it seemed like there were a lot of companies that just couldn't stomach being linked with Hockey Canada anymore. So specifically when it comes to corporate sponsors,

who cut ties with the organization? Yeah, and a lot of these sponsors originally earlier this summer had said that they were going to pause their sponsorships but last week after Skinner testified that change. Canadian Tire has permanently ended its sponsorship saying Hockey Canada continues to resist meaningful change. This along with a constantly growing list of departing sponsors. That includes TELUS, Tim Hortons, Esso, Scotiabank, Chevrolet, Pepsi, Sobeys, Swiss Chalet, The Keg and Skip the Dishes. And they came out and said they were either cutting ties entirely with Hockey Canada or specifically that they were not going to be funding the men's program, but they would continue with the women's and the para teams. And we're talking about major

sponsors here, what Hockey Canada calls their premier sponsors. So Tim Hortons, Nike, Canadian Tire, and it really hasn't let up. Even today, Bauer says they won't supply equipment for the men's teams. And some of these companies have sent out pretty damning statements expressing their disappointment. So, for example, TELUS said they were deeply disheartened by the lack of action and commitment from Hockey Canada to drive change. All of this came after Skinner's testimony. There's also been the reaction from the provincial and territorial hockey bodies in Canada. So these are the organizations that forward participant fees from young hockey players to Hockey Canada. So what action have those

organizations taken since last week? Well, they're distancing themselves. The Ontario Hockey Federation, Hockey Quebec, Hockey Nova Scotia, Hockey New Brunswick, Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador and Hockey PEI are all withholding or asking Hockey Canada not to collect their $3 per player participant fees. That's fees that they transfer over. They're still going to be paying for insurance. They're still Hockey Canada members. They still have voting power. But this sends a strong message.

It's also symbolic. And over the weekend in Quebec, referees were also told they no longer have to wear the Hockey Canada symbol on their jersey if they don't want to. Okay. And New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are actually supposed to host the World

Junior Hockey Tournament in just three months from now. I mean, what did the mayors of Moncton and Halifax have to say about this? Well, they made it sound like the World Juniors could be in jeopardy. In a joint statement, both mayors of Halifax and Moncton expressed their disappointment with Hockey Canada's leadership and handling of the sexual assault allegations and how the sport organization used money to settle lawsuits brought against them. We believe we have the local expertise and experience to welcome the world's best young hockey players to our cities, but we are deeply concerned about Hockey Canada's lack of judgment and professionalism.

Both of those premiers, New Brunswick's Blaine Higgs and Nova Scotia's Tim Houston, said that they've been talking and they both want to see major changes before they move ahead with hosting. I think we need to see reassurance that other people change. Organizations have a different governance model. There's protection around certainly both players

and any sort of situations that would arise to inappropriate actions. And New Brunswick had even agreed to give more than $1 million in funding for the tournament, but they haven't handed that over yet. Okay. You know, we talked a little bit about the MPs on the committee who were grilling Skinner. Who else in Ottawa was demanding more change from Hockey Canada leading up to this point? Like I know the prime minister, for example, has been speaking about this. Yeah, after Skinner's testimony, the prime minister said it's inconceivable that Hockey Canada had continued to dig in.

It boggles the mind that Hockey Canada is continuing to dig in its heels. Parents across the country are losing faith or have lost faith in Hockey Canada. Certainly politicians here in Ottawa have lost faith in Hockey Canada. And that there wasn't anything extraordinary or special about the people running the organization. They need to realize that if we have to create an organization, get rid of Hockey Canada

and create an organization called Canada Hockey instead, people will look at doing that. We also heard Sport Minister Pascal Saint-Ange have some pretty strong words. So I hope that they understand the message and leave before they burn it to the ground. Dang. You know, I mean, actually, listening to all of this in hindsight, like it's easy, I think, to ask yourself, what were they thinking? Like, why would they wait for this situation to get this bad? I mean, do you have any insights into why they made the decisions that they did? Well, Hockey Canada sent out a survey last month to parents, to volunteers and coaches,

and it was telling, and I think it gives us a bit of insight into their thinking. And their survey asked them how much they agreed that the level of criticism by the media toward Hockey Canada is overblown and how much they agreed that the allegations are only about a few hockey players and not representative of the culture of hockey in this country.

And Andrea Skinner, when she testified, she also said that she's done a number of town halls. I agree that we need to be more transparent. I agree that we need to better communicate the things that we've done and the things that we're doing. And that's partly why I stepped into this role. That's why I've been attending town halls across the country, speaking with stakeholders, trying to understand what's important and getting our message out there so that we can be more transparent. That is my goal too.

And told MPs that she wasn't sure that the public had the same opinion that the parliamentary committee did. From Hockey Canada's perspective, what we've heard during these parliamentary hearings is that they feel they did the right thing, that they contacted police after the 2018 allegations, that they launched their own investigation, and that they need to have a fund for uninsured losses. And they framed it as a way to help the victim. If the victim didn't want to go forward with the court process that these settlements were needed for that. My perspective on the settlement of the lawsuit involving allegations of sexual assault in London in 2018 is that as a board we wanted to do what we viewed as being responsible and respectful

particularly regarding the wishes of the young woman involved. We were keenly aware of the alternative to settling, that legal proceedings in these types of situations can re-victimize people in a very traumatic way. I personally did not want to see the young woman subjected to the cruelty and the invasiveness of an adversarial court process involving cross-examination and harsh defence tactics.

They also noted that the non-disclosure agreements that complainants signed, that's something that they often wanted. So it was very much centered around helping the victim. The board of directors also, their minute meetings, CBC News has seen copies of their meeting from August. And it showed that the board of directors started talking about how they really wanted to ramp up their efforts to start changing the public opinion and holding these town halls and talking to stakeholders and provincial federations because, quote, they were frustrated with the misunderstanding and facts occurring in the public and said they needed to be focused more on providing what they called accurate information. Okay, so fair to say then that it seems like from

their perspective, they kind of thought that things were going well, that like the public was was with them and that their members were were with them. You know, so like you've got, you know, MPs and maybe the public at large and those within Hockey Canada having like quite different perspectives on what the situation is. Exactly. And I remember a Bloc MP, Sebastian Lemire, he said that he felt Hockey Canada lived inside a bubble. I'll use the remaining minute. You said that you fundamentally disagree

with the way in which we're talking about Hockey Canada in the media. I think that you're in a bubble and you're disconnected from the public. And that they are talking to each other and hearing what they want to hear, but not hearing what Canadians and what politicians in the public have to hear.

That's kind of how he framed it. He couldn't quite understand why they weren't hearing what everyone was saying. And I also understand that they hired a crisis management firm that's pretty well known for like quite aggressively defending their clients. So what do we know about how this firm Navigator was involved here? Well, it's one of the reasons that Hockey Quebec sent a memo that it was distancing itself from Hockey Canada, they were upset that they say they confirmed that Navigator, this crisis management firm, this PR firm, was the one that was consulted and used to help Hockey Canada come up with this

action plan in response to all of this, rather than consulting with sexual harassment, sexual violence, bullying experts. So that's one reason why they are not transferring their fees over. As well, we know that former Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, who works with Navigator, he approached Olympic rowing champion Marnie McBean and asked her to join an oversight committee made up of independent experts. They were essentially tasked with, you know, helping Hockey Canada's board make sure they were following through with this action plan. But McBean first confirmed to TSN and then CBC that her offer was withdrawn because she wanted senior leadership to change. So that has really raised a lot of questions around whether or not this is more of

a PR effort than real change that's underway. And that's certainly a criticism we've heard from MPs. In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. Hi, it's Ramit Sethi here. You may have seen my money show on Netflix. I've been talking about money for 20 years. I've talked to millions of people and I have some startling numbers to share with you.

Did you know that of the people I speak to, 50% of them do not know their own household income? That's not a typo. 50%. That's because money is confusing. In my new book and podcast, Money for Couples, I help you and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Couples. On the one hand, it seems like critics and experts got what they were asking for in the short term.

You know, leadership is changing. Skinner stepped down Saturday, the CEO and the board have now stepped down. So that immediate demand, they've gone through with that. But I mean, what has to come next to solve the root problem here of this toxic culture that we've been talking about? Well, I think what's missing right now is accountability. The players involved in the 2018 case, they have not been named publicly. And with the NHL season starting, some of them could be on the ice. And Hockey Canada right now is investigating, the NHL is investigating, police are investigating. So I think a lot of people are going to be watching to see if any charges are laid or what happens in that case.

Same with the 2003 case. We've reported that Halifax police have the names of two people who were allegedly involved that played and had NHL careers. And so I think a lot of people are going to be watching to see what happens. Because a big part of the problem is that it's been alleged that Hockey Canada and teams have covered up allegations that they've been kept quiet with settlements and nondisclosure agreements. And there have been a lot of calls for that to change. Okay. Well, we're going to be watching what happens next here. Thanks so much for this, Ashley. Thank you. That's all for today.

I'm Allie Janes, in for Jamie Poisson. Thanks for listening to FrontBurner, and we'll talk to you tomorrow. For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.