In a months long scandal involving the uncovering of a sexual assault case by many members of Hockey Canada’s junior national team, the organization is still backing President Scott Smith. Since the story broke in June, calls for his resignation have been made not just nationally, but internationally.
So far, the only resignation has come from Michael Brind’Amour who served as a chair on the Hockey Canada board. Despite the Canadian Sports Minister, Pascale St-Onge, saying just last week that the culture of the program needs to change, it does not seem as though the board shares the same sentiment.
St-Onge said, “There needs to be change within the organization” and those serving on the board should question “are they the right people to implement the change that Canadians are requesting?”
It has not just been Canadian citizens who have requested change within the organization, but also some politicians. Government officials froze Hockey Canada’s government assets, but a call is being made for change on a grander scale in which politicians believe Scott Smith should be removed as president and a new board should be appointed.
Unfortunately, it does not look as though that will be happening anytime soon since Hockey Canada released a statement showing support for both the board and its president.
“Scott Smith and the executive team have the support of the Board of Hockey Canada,” a statement declared. “Our Board is focused on facilitating the implementation of programs for girls and boys and men and women across the country. We are committed to improve our game, including through our governance review, the implementation of our Action Plan and other programs. We look forward to informing Canadians about the work and objectives of the Board, and our ongoing efforts to restore the trust of Canadians in hockey and Hockey Canada.”
The action plan referenced is a six-pillar plan to crack down on the culture of Hockey Canada and extinguish the toxic behavior and “code of silence” that has been demonstrated throughout the organization.
Despite the negative attention this case has received, Hockey Canada still appears to be focused on developing the program based strictly on producing stellar hockey players and not so much on making sure these youths are raised on a strong sense of morality.
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