Hockey Alberta may withhold fees if Hockey Canada doesn’t take action

Hockey Alberta has indicated it would withhold participant fees from Hockey Canada if actions aren’t taken to address the ongoing controversies its embroiled in.

This comes as Hockey Canada continues to vigorously defend its leadership amid criticism over the handling of alleged sexual assaults and the way money was paid out in lawsuits.

Hockey Alberta says it wants answers by a “specific deadline.”

“We have outlined that a lack of action may lead to Hockey Alberta taking other actions which include, but are not limited to, withholding participant fees,” the provincial organization said in a statement.

“We believe it is important to establish a set of actions within a national framework to improve the overall culture of our sport. We have provided input for Justice Cromwell’s governance review, and we are awaiting the report’s final recommendations. Our participation will continue during review sessions this month, and other processes moving forward.”

The statement notes Hockey Alberta is going to continue to meet with Hockey Canada to ask questions of the organization, and work “towards an improved and stronger hockey system for Albertans and participants across the country.”

 

Hockey Alberta did not specify what actions it wants Hockey Canada to take, nor the questions it expects answers to. The deadline was not mentioned either.

In the wake of the allegations against Hockey Canada, Hockey Alberta says it has “identified that allegations of maltreatment, regardless of where or when they occur in our sport, need to be investigated and adjudicated by individuals with specialized skills.”

The provincial governing body says it is hiring a maltreatment officer and four investigators to support this, adding it will have its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) task force on full-time status for the 2022-2023 season.

The Alberta hockey association brought in its EDI task force on October 2021, to “help improve the experience of everyone in our sport.”

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The province is the latest organization across the country to either withhold fees or speak out against Hockey Canada.

On Wednesday, Hockey Quebec said it lost confidence in the national governing body, adding it would not transfer funds, including its portion of registration fees that went toward that National Equity Fund, to Hockey Canada.

Meanwhile, the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHL), the largest of Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial hockey federations, re-sent a formal request to Hockey Canada not to collect the $3 participant assessment fee from its members for the 2022-23 season.

In Alberta, a fee of $23 collected from every registration in Hockey Calgary and Hockey Edmonton goes to the provincial hockey association.

Amid the ongoing controversy, Hockey Canada has seen several sponsors, including Tim Hortons, Telus, Canadian Tire, and Imperial Oil, pull their support. Nike is the most recent to announce its departure as a sponsor.

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Calls continue for Hockey Canada executives to step down after it was revealed the organization paid out $7.6 million to settle nine sexual assault and abuse claims since 1989.

The national organization has been under intense scrutiny since news of an alleged sexual assault following a 2018 gala in London, Ont., involving eight unidentified players — including members of that year’s world junior team — and subsequent hushed settlement broke in May. Allegations involving the 2003 world junior team arose in July.

The organization continues to vigorously defend its leadership amid criticism over the handling of alleged sexual assaults and the way money was paid out in lawsuits.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

-With files from Charlie Carey, Sarah Chew, and Hana Mae Nasar