‘We haven’t corrected the problem:’ Saskatoon MP says Hockey Canada needs to change

The backlash and criticism aimed toward Hockey Canada has been non-stop after allegations of group sexual assaults involving Team Canada players in 2003 and 2018 surfaced.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has questioned executives with the organization multiple times about how they handled the alleged incidents.

Saskatoon-Grasswood MP Kevin Waugh sits on that committee. He said Hockey Canada has too much power and needs to be reined in.

“They’re too powerful,” Waugh told John Gormley on Thursday. “That has to change, and until that change you can’t take hockey seriously any longer.”

In order for trust to be restored, Waugh said he wants to see significant changes within the organization.

“They need to be more accountable. They’re not. They need that desperately … And transparency,” he said.

Many people are extremely upset Hockey Canada used its national equity fund to settle those allegations, Waugh added, but he said the issues go deeper than just Hockey Canada, and more needs to be done.

“Even with the Graham James situation back in the ’90s, dealing with Sheldon Kennedy and Theoren Fleury and so on, we haven’t corrected the problem in sport,” Waugh said, referring to the former WHL coach who was convicted of sexually assaulting players.

“We have gymnastics now that has filed a complaint with Sport Canada. There’s others that have filed complaints. Rugby, swimming, we’re going to hear from them, too.”

Since 1989, Hockey Canada paid out $7.6 million over nine settlements for sexual assault and sexual abuse claims, with the majority of those cases related to James.

No criminal charges have been laid in connection with the alleged assaults, but Waugh said there should have been proper hearings to talk openly about what happened instead of Hockey Canada settling with alleged victims outside of court.

Waugh said more is going to come to light in the coming months now that sponsors have paused their support for Hockey Canada’s events.

Hockey Canada said it will still host the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton and Red Deer from Aug. 9-20, as it is an IIHF-run tournament.