hockey canada There is a new board of directors.
Now the real work begins.
Members of the beleaguered national sports body on Saturday elected a slate of candidates to fill nine vacant board seats.
Hockey Canada announces 9 new names to fill board vacated in wake of sexual assault scandal
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Retired Judge Hugh L. Fraser is Hockey Canada’s new president, while former women’s national team captain Cassie Campbell-Pascal is one of eight directors.
The federation’s 13 provincial and territorial bodies had the option of accepting or rejecting the nine names, which included five women and four men, by an independent nominations committee.
Three days after interim president Andrea Skinner stepped down in October, Hockey Canada’s previous board also resigned _ under criticism President and CEO Scott Smith quit at the same time _ over the scandal-plagued organization’s handling of sexual harassment allegations. and payments to victims amid fierce criticism regarding the silence.
“We understand the frustration and the loss of faith,” Fraser said in a phone interview with The Canadian Press on Saturday. “There is a lot of work to be done in rebuilding Hockey Canada.
“Our focus is on making sport safer and more inclusive, and rebuilding that trust.”
Grant Borbridge, Julie Duranceau, David Evans, Marnie Fullerton, Jonathan F. Goldbloom, Marion Jaco and Andrea Poole were also selected as directors.
His first order of business will be to hire a new CEO and rebuild trust in an organization that has been badly fractured since May when it was revealed that a woman had been sexually assaulted by eight CHL players — including the 2018 World Cup. Members of the junior team included – after a Hockey Canada gala four years earlier in London, Ont.
The result was swift.
Hockey Canada saw its federal and corporate funding reduced as more scandals surfaced, while a series of disastrous Heritage Committee meetings on Parliament Hill that saw past and present officials berated by parliamentarians eventually led to the resignation of the board and the resignation of Smith. led to the departure of
Ugly headlines included the revelation that Hockey Canada’s little-known National Equity Fund – maintained by fees collected from players across the country – had been used to pay for uninsured liabilities, including sexual abuse claims.
With nearly three decades of experience in the Ontario Court of Justice, Fraser has been on the Court of Arbitration for Sport since 1995 and served on the first ad hoc court at the 1996 Olympics.
Born in Jamaica and raised in Kingston, Ontario, he also competed in the men’s 200 m track and field event at the 1976 Olympics and is the father of former NHL defenseman Mark Fraser.
“It’s a big deal,” Fraser said of being selected from a pool of more than 550 applicants.
“I am a passionate hockey fan and have seen the recent events first hand.”
Liberal MP and Heritage Committee member Anthony Housefather said in a statement that the new board represented “a diverse group of very qualified people”.
“They also have a tremendous challenge ahead of them,” he added.
“To say that Hockey Canada is going through a period of turmoil is an understatement,” Conservative MP and heritage committee member Rachel Thomas said in a separate statement. “The newly created members of the board have a responsibility to the players, parents and the Canadian people to guide the organization into a positive future.”
Campbell-Pascal brings the most Hockey Canada experience to the table.
The three-time Olympian, who helped the women’s team win gold at both the 2002 and 2006 Games, currently sits on its foundation’s board and was the first female hockey player to be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
An Order of Canada recipient, Campbell-Pascal was also the first woman to provide color commentary on “Hockey Night in Canada” and is a regular on Sportsnet’s NHL telecasts.
Her husband, Brad Pascal, is an assistant general manager with the Calgary Flames and served in senior management roles at Hockey Canada from 1995 to 2014, according to his LinkedIn page.
“Cassie should not be held responsible for her husband’s former employment,” Fraser said. “She has built her own career and will be a very important contributor to helping us understand some of the challenges in the sport.”
Meanwhile, Borbridge, Jaco and Poole have significant experience in hockey administration.
A corporate lawyer in Calgary, Borbridge served on the boards of the Girls Hockey Calgary Association and the Glenlake Minor Hockey Club.
An Anishinaabe of Wiikwemkoong First Nation, is the assistant deputy attorney general of the Indigenous Justice Division in Jaco, Ontario. She is also the president of the Little Native Hockey League.
Poole, who runs an accounting firm, sits as a director of the Ottawa East Minor Hockey Association.
Other new board members come from outside the sport.
Duranceau is an attorney and an accredited mediator, Goldbloom is a communications specialist, Fullerton has experience as a senior advisor and CEO, and Evans has worked in the consulting, advisory and real estate industries.
Fraser pointed to that wide range of expertise for Hockey Canada going forward.
“There’s clearly more visible diversity in organizations like this than we think,” he said. “But we also talk about diversity of thought.
“I’m very impressed with the perspective that everyone brings.”
Former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell chaired an independent review released in November by Hockey Canada. The 221-page document concluded that the federation was at a “crossroads” and called for greater oversight and accountability.
Cromwell’s report provided a number of recommendations, including that no more than 60 percent of board members be of the same sex.
He also recommended that the new board serve a special one-year term focused on improving the organisation’s governance and security across sport.
The clock is already ticking.
“Trust won’t be built overnight,” Fraser said. “But Canadians should know that the new leadership at Hockey Canada is very committed to getting this right.
“We are very confident that we will be able to do this.”