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Hockey parents are learning more just how much of their child’s registration fees went towards Hockey Canada, after it came to light that the national organization was using some of that money to settle alleged sexual assault cases.
Hockey Saskatchewan President Kelly McClintock spoke to CKOM/CJME‘s John Gormley on Friday to explain exactly how the process works, and how much of the fees paid in Saskatchewan end up in Hockey Canada’s hands.
“Everybody who is registered with Hockey Canada pays a participant fee to Hockey Saskatchewan of $48,” he explained. “Of that $48, $23.80 is passed onto Hockey Canada.”
McClintock further broke down that $23.80, saying $3 is a membership assessment which goes into Hockey Canada’s operations. There is also $7.15 that goes towards a health benefit trust fund, and $13.65 that goes to a national equity fund which is used to help pay for those who have suffered serious injuries or settle/fight a variety of other legal cases.
As an example, McClintock said those legal cases could include a parent trying to get their money back because they didn’t feel like their child got enough practice time during the season.
McClintock said the national equity fund was created after it was revealed that Graham James sexually abused multiple players on teams he coached.
“At the time,” McClintock said, “Hockey Canada didn’t have a liability insurance policy; they couldn’t get it. By around 1995 and 1996 they were able to, but then the James situation came up.”
The $13.65 which goes toward Hockey Canada’s national equity fund is also used to pay the premiums for insurance policies and to fund safety initiatives, McClintock said.
“If they think there might be five or six liability claims based on history on a given year, they’ll budget the deductibles to pay those on behalf of those,” he said. “If those aren’t paid, that money stays there, and is invested and stays within the national equity fund.”
Hockey Canada, he noted, updates its members regularly on what is going on with the fund.
“I haven’t had many people call me, but a couple of people who did said ‘How much of my fee goes towards something that’s not insurance?’ I said about $3.00,” he explained.
The investigation into Hockey Canada remains ongoing. On Thursday, it was revealed that a former Supreme Court of Canada judge will lead an independent review of Hockey Canada’s governance.
