Sports Canada and the government have failed Canadians on Hockey Canada

Following questions from NDP MP Peter Julian today, representatives for Hockey Canada confirmed that thousands of dollars in bonuses are given to senior executives for World Championship wins

NDP critic for Canadian Heritage, Peter Julian, made the following statement:

“The disturbing allegations against the 2018 World Juniors team and the allegations from 2002-2003 have shed light on a toxic culture within Canadian sports. The Liberal government must take accountability for their role as funders of Hockey Canada whose culture has caused considerable harm to young women and young men.

While Hockey Canada settled the lawsuit for a group sexual assault out of court and implemented no changes, the Liberals continued to give the organization millions of dollars annually. It was also revealed today in documents to our committee that Hockey Canada executives receive thousands of dollars in bonuses when their teams win World Championships. There is literally a financial incentive for executives to keep talented, high-performing players on the ice despite their potentially problematic personal conduct.

Canadian families are very disturbed to hear that their children's hockey fees have been used for a sexual assault settlement. The Liberal government must make sure that taxpayers’ money is never used again to settle sexual assault lawsuits and that these horrific incidents don’t happen again. People’s hard-earned money must not be funding a climate where abuse is rampant and perpetrators are protected.

It is the Minister’s job to know what is going on in her own government and to intervene in instances where they are funding abuse. Sadly, many Canadians have lost confidence in the ability of the Liberals, Sports Canada and Hockey Canada to be transparent about this culture where sexual violence and abuse occurs and to take meaningful steps to eliminate this behaviour.

Today, I called for more hearings to occur so that the full extent of the allegations can be discovered. New Democrats will keep pushing the Liberals and Sports Canada to take responsibility and finally step up to protect women in and around Canadian sports. We’re also calling on the government to create an office of a sport ombudsman to provide oversight and accountability for Canadians.”