Question Period Note: The Government of Canada continues to monitor Hockey Canada with accountability and reporting measures.

The Government of Canada continues to monitor Hockey Canada with additional accountability and reporting measures after reinstating funding in March 2023 following the organization’s handling of a settlement of a sexual assault lawsuit.

The Government of Canada remains committed to providing a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for everyone.
Funding to Hockey Canada is accompanied by greater reporting measures that embed accountability, integrity and safety for its participants.

These measures are to ensure Hockey Canada implements their Action Plan and maintains their momentum in the right direction.

On June 26, 2018, Hockey Canada informed Sport Canada that there was a situation that was sexual in nature, that it had followed up with the authorities and had followed its internal policies and procedures.

On May 26, 2022, it was reported that Hockey Canada had reached a settlement with a woman who alleged in a lawsuit that she was sexually assaulted by multiple Canadian Hockey League players.

On June 16, 2022, Sport Canada advised Hockey Canada of a financial audit to confirm no public funds were used in any part of the proceedings, and that funding decisions would be held until recommendations on the areas of improvement and an implementation plan were provided by Hockey Canada’s independent investigator.

On October 27, 2022, Hockey Canada became a full signatory to the services of the Office of Sport Integrity Commissioner.

The Cromwell report was published on November 4, 2022, which detailed a series of recommendations for Hockey Canada to implement to improve their governance.

On December 17, 2022, Hockey Canada’s members elected the new transitionary Board of Directors.

In March 2023, Sport Canada confirmed that Hockey Canada had met all three conditions imposed and reinstated funding (frozen in June 2022) to Hockey Canada with additional payment monitoring conditions. The organization continues to report quarterly on implementing good governance practices to the Compliance and Accountability Division of Sport Canada.

On July 4, 2023, Hockey Canada announced the appointment of Katherine Henderson as Chief Executive Officer starting September 4, 2023.

On August 16, 2023, Hockey Canada published its first Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Path Forward, a commitment to action statement with 13 objectives and 45 actions along with accompanying measures and timelines to drive change.

On November 14, 2023, Hockey Canada announced that a third-party adjudicative panel had completed its final report on possible sanctions against former World Junior players allegedly involved in the sexual assault that took place in London, Ontario in 2018. Hockey Canada is not releasing the results of this report as an appeal process was launched shortly after the panel had shared their final report with Hockey Canada.

On November 18, 2023, Hockey Canada Members elected a new Board of Directors. Jonathan Goldbloom was named chair of the board. Six new directors were chosen and three re-elected after serving on the transitionary board. Additionally, on April 9, 2024, the organization hired Jaime Boldt, as governance advisor as they strive to be a governance leader in the Canadian sport system.

The accusation process for the five members of the 2018 junior national hockey team began at the end of January 2024. The London, Ontario police department charged the five players on February 5, 2024, and the case is awaiting trial.

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