The recent resignation of Hockey Canada’s chief executive officer could be a sign of more departures to come, a lawyer says.
“I hope that there will be significant changes not just within Hockey Canada, but in pretty much every sporting organization in Canada, from federal to local,” Simona Jellinek, a Toronto-based sex abuse and assault attorney, told CTV News Channel on Sunday.
Jellinek says if Canada is to address sexual abuse in sport at all levels, sexual violence must be taken more seriously and at a sufficiently early stage, or the problem will only continue.
“But the problem is that we can’t wait for scandals,” she said.
“We can’t wait for people to come forward, we can’t wait for something to happen and then react. We must be proactive to protect our players, our viewers and anyone else who may be subjected to sexual violence by someone who is in a position of power or who is being protected by those in a position of power.”
On Saturday, Hockey Canada announced that Michael Brind’Amour had resigned as Hockey Canada’s CEO.
He is the first senior leader to leave the organization, which has come under scrutiny for its handling of sexual assault allegations involving members of previous Canadian junior hockey teams.
Hockey Canada also maintained a fund, funded from membership dues, to pay uninsured liabilities, including but not limited to sexual abuse claims. The organization has since said it would no longer use the fund to settle sexual assault claims.
The federal government froze its funding to Hockey Canada after it was revealed the organization had quietly settled a lawsuit involving a woman allegedly brought by members of the 2018 men’s junior team after a Hockey Canada gala event in London, Ontario earlier that year had been sexually assaulted.
Members of the 2003 junior team are also under investigation for an alleged sexual assault in Nova Scotia.
Meanwhile, former players and advocates for victims’ rights have called on senior Hockey Canada executives to step down.
On August 4, Hockey Canada announced that former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell will lead an independent review of the organization’s governance.
“We’re starting to see cracks in the fort, and that’s how the light is coming in,” Canada’s Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge said Saturday in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where she met with provincial and territorial sports leaders the night before the Canada Games .
“The Canadians have sent a clear message to Hockey Canada that real leadership change is needed, at all levels within the organization.”
With files from CTV News and The Canadian Press