Hockey Canada allegations leave parents struggling with whether to enroll their children next season

As police investigate alleged group sexual assaults involving members of the 2003 and 2018 Canadian men’s world junior hockey teams, 39-year-old Erin Schnare said she is on the fence about allowing her children to register for the upcoming hockey season.

Schnare lives in Halifax with her husband and three children. Her eldest son, who is about to turn seven, has been playing hockey for nearly two years, while her three-year-old daughter will soon be eligible for enrollment.

“I don’t know if I’ll put them in this year, I’m struggling with it,” she told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview on Thursday. “What if things don’t change?”

The scandal stretches back to May of this year when Hockey Canada reached a settlement with a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted in London, Ont. by several members of the Canadian world junior hockey team. The incident allegedly took place in 2018. In June, the federal government froze its funding to Hockey Canada and major sponsors, such as Scotiabank and Telus, also pressed pause on their financial support.

Since then, another allegation of group sexual assault has surfaced involving members of the Canadian world junior hockey team in 2003.

After hearing about the allegations, Schnare said she was “disgusted,” which puts her in a difficult position when deciding whether to let her children play hockey. Her son loves to play and her daughter loves to watch, she said. While she doesn’t want them to miss out on participating in the sport they love, Schnare said she worries about the ethics behind allowing her children to play, and the message this might send to Hockey Canada.

“If I keep putting my kids in hockey, am I really helping to facilitate change or am I just going along, status quo?” she said. “Are they going to interpret that as me not caring about what they did or that I agree with it? I hope not.”

A number of Canadian parents reached out to CTVNews.ca expressing concerns with enrolling their children in hockey, due to the sexual assault allegations involving Hockey Canada.

Schnare’s biggest concerns involve the culture around the sport, which she described as one that enables misogynistic behaviour. Scott Smith, president and CEO of Hockey Canada, acknowledged some of these concerns in a parliamentary committee hearing on July 27.

“Hockey Canada understands Canadians’ trust in us has been eroded and we are committed to take every action possible to earn it back,” Smith said at the hearing. “I know you … want answers and you want to see real action taken to end the culture of silence that allows toxic behaviour and sexism to fester in corners of our game. I do too.”

Rhonni Bonn, a single mother who lives in Westbank First Nation, in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, said the surfacing of these allegations have caused her to lose trust in the organization.

“These are young men that are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing,” she told CTVNews.ca on Sunday in a telephone interview. “They’re there to be positive, inspirational role models … to young children, and they’re really not.”

Since registration for the fall hockey season opened in June, Bonn said she and her 12-year-old son have been discussing whether he should enroll. With these allegations now top of mind, Bonn said her son has decided not to play this year.

“He’s not going to play hockey because … he’s disappointed,” Bonn said. “He didn’t like that that was going on … and he didn’t agree with it. He’s looking forward to taking a break.”

Bonn, 49, said her son has played in the West Kelowna minor hockey league for five years now. Despite enjoying the sport and spending time with his teammates, he refuses to play in the upcoming season after hearing about the allegedly disrespectful behaviour shown to women by members of the Canadian world junior hockey teams, a decision Bonn said she supports.

“I’m a single mom trying to raise a young boy to respect women, and these people in the hockey association don’t,” she said. “It’s a big turnoff. Why would I support rape culture? I’d rather send him somewhere else.”

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Candice Mansour said if it was up to her, she wouldn’t let her three children participate in hockey in the fall, particularly her 10-year-old daughter whose hockey team forms part of the Canterbury Hockey Association in Ottawa. But with her husband unlikely to be on board, chances are they will still be registered to play.

“I have lost total trust,” the 49-year-old mother told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview on Thursday. “[But] I will be forced to put them in, should he and the kids desire it. My voice alone will not be enough in my household.”

The culture of silence within the sport is what concerns her the most, Mansour said. Accountability for poor behaviour should be addressed starting at the grassroots level, she said.

“The hockey community is one [where] even if parents have a concern, they don’t come forward with it … because they don’t believe that they’ll be heard,” Mansour said.

Additionally, to see membership fees being used to pay for sexual assault settlements and related legal fees is frustrating, she said.

During the parliamentary committee hearing on July 27, Hockey Canada revealed it has paid out $7.6 million as part of nine settlements related to sexual assault and abuse claims since 1989. The money for these payouts came from the organization’s National Equity Fund, which is maintained by registration fees.

“Having been on the Canterbury Community Association’s board of directors, we’re always scraping for money and worrying [whether] we can buy our kids water bottles and meanwhile, there’s all this money being funnelled away for legal fees and other things,” Mansour said. “How could that benefit our kids?”

Among the questions posed by MPs to executive members of Hockey Canada during the hearing was one from Lisa Hepfner, member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain in Ontario, about whether or not using the fund to settle sexual assault claims allows potential perpetrators to escape accountability, ultimately perpetuating the problem.

“This money is used to support the victims of the individuals, not the perpetrator,” said Brian Cairo, chief financial officer of Hockey Canada, at the hearing. “We feel very strongly that we need to support those victims.”

In terms of whether or not parents should be concerned about enrolling their children in hockey, the organization said families can be assured that Hockey Canada is taking the appropriate steps to foster a respectful culture by addressing toxic behaviours both on and off the ice, and encouraging participants to speak out when something is wrong.

“We have heard the anger and disappointment of Canadians, and in particular the parents of the hockey players that Hockey Canada represents,” Esther Madziya, communications manager for Hockey Canada, wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca on Friday. “Children come first, and parents can take comfort in knowing that as part of the steps we are taking, structures like the Universal Code of Conduct to Address Maltreatment in Sports (UCCMS) are in place to protect every athlete.”

This includes the administration of education and training designed to create a safer sporting environment for players, coaches, employees and volunteers, according to an action plan recently released by the organization. These efforts are in addition to a full review of Hockey Canada and its National Equity Fund, overseen by an independent third party. Throughout the process, Hockey Canada will be subject to a series of checks and balances, including public reporting and tracking.

“Canadians have been clear – they expect those representing our national sport to do better,” Smith said. “We own it and we will do better to deliver on our responsibilities to Canadians.”

Hockey Canada has also announced it will no longer use its National Equity Fund to settle sexual assault claims. The fund will instead be used to provide insurance for hockey players, as well as counselling and treatment, criminal record checks of Hockey Canada staff, and additional support for players who suffer physical injuries, said the statement from Madziya.

The organization is also reopening the investigation into the allegation of sexual assault involving the Canadian men’s world junior hockey team in 2018, followed by a referral to an independent panel of judges to determine consequences.

“We do not take the trust parents put in Hockey Canada for granted, and we know the actions we are taking now should have been taken sooner,” said Madziya’s statement. “We also understand that trust is earned not given and we will work relentlessly to earn back what has been lost.”

A PATH FORWARD

While Schnare remains unsure whether her children will participate in hockey in the fall, she said she hopes to see Hockey Canada do more to change the culture around the sport in Canada so that players don’t see themselves as “above others.” She also wants to see the organization take more accountability for its role in facilitating this attitude and acknowledging it has a responsibility to find a solution, she said.

“They should be moulding [these boys] into great people, not just great hockey players,” she said.

Bonn said she would like to see those involved in the allegations be held accountable, and hopes to see a greater emphasis placed on mental health among those in the sport.

For Mansour, the solution lies in continuing to speak out against poor behaviour exhibited within the sport, she said, and organizations such as Hockey Canada shouldn’t be showing tolerance for disrespectful conduct.

“I don’t know what the solution is other than people coming forward,” she said. “Difficult conversations are necessary … for bad behaviour.”