Hockey Canada issues important statement regarding its ''National Equity Fund'', which was used to pay off alleged SA victims
One of the major hockey stories that has stood out above all the rest of late has been the lawsuit filed by and recently settled with a young woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by 8 members of the 2017-18 Canadian World Junior team following a team function back in 2018.
While the probe into the incident is currently ongoing following the settlement, it was discovered that Hockey Canada actually had a "National Equity Fund", which allowed the organization to use its resources to secure counselling for players in need, allow for treatment for a variety of mental issues, fund concussion research as well as several other helpful initiatives. However, it was discovered that a portion of that funding was made available to Hockey Canada to pay settlements to alleged victims of sex crimes as well.
Once this was brought into the public eye (technically it was already public record), pressure began to mount on Hockey Canada to not only address it publicly, but also to make changes that would not allow for such uses of that funding. On Wednesday, Hockey Canada issued the following statement on the matter:
While we respect that process, we also recognize some actions cannot wait. Effective immediately, the National Equity Fund will no longer be used to settle sexual assault claims. Instead, it will be exclusively dedicated towards safety, wellness and equity initiatives, as well as insurance across our organization activities which comprised 98 per cent of its resources between 2014 and 2021. This includes counselling and treatment for players, concussion research grants to the Canadian Hockey League, criminal record checks of Hockey Canada staff, donations to Kids Help Phone, as well as a range of safety initiatives including insurance for players and additional support for players who sustain physical injuries. Hockey Canada also commits that, going forward, all National Equity Fund proceeds from registration fees will be dedicated to these safety, wellness and equity initiatives, as well as insurance.
Following the governance review, we will take any additional steps that are recommended. Should the review determine that a fund to support victims of sexual assault is required, as is common in other sporting organizations, we will ensure all claims are subject to the approval of an independent third-party.
Canadians have been loud and clear: you expect our national sport and those representing it to work hard to earn your trust each day. We have heard you and are committed to making the changes necessary to allow us to be the organization you expect us to be, and to restore your confidence and trust in us."
This whole thing has gone from bad to worse for Hockey Canada in terms of the optics of it all. Thankfully, because of the stellar work of TSN's Rick Westhead, yet again, another scandal came to light and now the organization can go through the cleansing that is needed in order to rebuild the program to operate at a much higher standard, greater transparency and one that holds its players and personnel accountable for their actions.
