Hockey Canada is failing to understand how it contributed to the “serious” situation gripping the organization, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.
His comments come after a heated committee meeting on Tuesday that saw Hockey Canada officials pressed by MPs for answers on the organization’s handling of sexual assault.
The remarks also follow a Globe and Mail report on Monday, which revealed Hockey Canada put player registration fees towards a second fund “for matters including but not limited to sexual abuse,” according to documents obtained by the newspaper.
It’s the second revelation of such a fund in recent months, after it was revealed in July that another fund — the National Equity Fund — was used to settle sexual misconduct claims.
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“It boggles the mind that Hockey Canada is continuing to dig in its heels,” Trudeau said on his way into a caucus meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday.
“Parents across the country are losing faith or have lost faith in Hockey Canada, certainly politicians here in Ottawa have lost faith in Hockey Canada.”
Multiple outlets have reported that Hockey Quebec, the provincial federation for the sport, has moved to cut ties with its federal counterpart in light of the latest revelation.
“It’s no surprise that provincial organizations are questioning whether or not they want to continue supporting an organization that doesn’t understand how serious a situation it has contributed to causing,” Trudeau said.
“I really hope they understand, because hockey is a really important sport to a lot of Canadians and a lot of kids, and right now this mess is doing no favours to kids across the country.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
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