Andrea Skinner announced on Saturday that she will be stepping down as director and interim chair of the board of directors of Hockey Canada following the leak of sponsors and pressure from politicians for a change in the leadership of the board of directors. administration – but advocates say while it’s a step forward, more change is needed at the top.
Hockey Canada has been in the spotlight in recent months over their handling of sexual assault allegations, with pressure mounting after it was revealed that minor hockey membership fees helped pay for settlements. sexual assault.
But Skinner’s resignation doesn’t solve everything, critics say, with many calling for more resignations and systemic change in the board’s structure.
“I have mixed feelings, because I think his departure is a good thing – we are closing the Skinner chapter,” François Lemay, city councilor in Granby, Que., told CTV News Channel on Sunday.
The Granby Minor Hockey Association was one of the first to suspend payments to Hockey Canada this summer.
“But everything remains to be done,” added Lemay, pointing out that Scott Smith, CEO of Hockey Canada, has not been removed from his position or resigned.
It is one of the points Skinner was asked about during a parliamentary committee earlier this week, with MPs demanding to know why he had not yet been sacked.
Unlike Skinner’s position, which was volunteer, Smith’s role is a paid position.
Ann Pegoraro, co-director of the National Gender Equity Research Network, told CTV News Channel on Sunday that she was “surprised” that Smith had not yet been fired or resigned.
“At this point, we’ve seen almost all sponsors stop supporting the men’s game,” she said, adding that Canadian Tire, one of the game’s biggest supporters, is one of them.
Many other sponsors have also withdrawn their support, including Tim Hortons, Chevrolet Canada, Scotiabank, Telus and Sobeys.
“Over 40% of their revenue comes from sponsors,” Pegoraro said. “I think that’s a real indication for (Smith) that he’s not the leader they trust and he needs to step down.
“Will we see it? I can’t tell you at this point, because I really thought we’d see it now.
The federal government also froze funding for Hockey Canada.
“We still have the board to change, we still have the governments to change,” Lemay said. “So we are closing a chapter of someone who has vigorously protected Hockey Canada against all odds and, I would say, against all common sense, but at the moment everything remains to be done.”
During Tuesday’s parliamentary committee hearing, Skinner was asked about Hockey Canada’s ongoing handling of an alleged group sexual assault involving members of the 2018 Junior Men’s National Team, as well as the rules of related lawsuits paid.
She fiercely defended the actions of Hockey Canada, a move that led to an intensified call for change in the organization’s leadership.
“Upon reflection, it is clear from recent events that it no longer makes sense for me to continue to volunteer as interim president or as director of the organization,” Skinner wrote in the announcement. of Saturday.
Pegoraro said Skinner’s sudden shift in tone from defending to losing is surprising, but perhaps signals a broader shift on the board.
“It’s certainly a quick shift for her in her tough defense to step down now and allow someone else to run the board,” she said. “If I understand a little about it, I think maybe she saw behind the scenes that change is really hard to achieve. And maybe it was someone else who had to do it at leave her.
Sebastian Lemire, a Bloc Québécois MP who sits on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, said in a tweet in French on Sunday that “for the good of all” Hockey Canada must continue to clean up, suggesting that more executives must resign.
Pegoraro and Lemay agreed that the board needs to diversify.
Skinner’s resignation is “certainly not” enough to change the general culture, Lemay said.
“We need to have a complete overhaul of the board, we need to bring different expertise to the board, especially on sexual and physical harassment, abuse… we need human resources people, we need a different kind of expertise. We cannot govern hockey with hockey people alone.
Pegoraro pointed out that hockey is currently a very insular sport in Canada.
“We need to shed some outside light on this situation,” she said. “Hopefully what we would be able to build here is a standard world-class organization because we certainly don’t have that at this point.”
To regain the trust of the hockey community, Hockey Canada must “wholeheartedly admit that it was wrong,” Lemay said.
“That would be the first step. If you want to consider redemption… the first thing to do is to admit “we were wrong, we misused the money, we mishandled the victims” because we must always keep the victims in mind in this case, the families of the victims. I am convinced that there are good people in Hockey Canada and everywhere working in hockey, but there is terrible leadership right now.
With files from The Canadian Press