CNN –
Hockey Canada, the sport’s national governing body, announced drastic changes to the organization’s leadership on Tuesday, as CEO Scott Smith will step down effective immediately and the board of directors will also resign.
An interim management committee will be created until a new board appoints a replacement CEO, Hockey Canada said in a statement.
The moves are made in recognition of “the urgent need for new leadership and perspectives,” Hockey Canada’s statement said. “In accordance with Hockey Canada’s Bylaws, the Board will ask its members to select a new slate of directors no later than the next virtual election scheduled for December 17, 2022.”
The shakeup comes amid several scandals, including an ongoing investigation into Hockey Canada’s failure to act after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in London, Ont., by members of the Canadian world junior team in 2018.
Canadian broadcaster TSN reported in May that the governing body settled a lawsuit brought by the woman against Hockey Canada, the players and the Canadian Hockey League. Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper later reported that the organization used money from the organization’s National Equity Fund, which is maintained in part by player registration fees, to settle the abuse claims.
In June, the Canadian government announced it was freezing federal public funding for Hockey Canada until the organization had presented the full results of the original investigation and plans to implement change to Hockey Canada. Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge said: “This is about changing a deep-rooted culture, it’s not about simple band-aid fixes.”
The following month, the governing body acknowledged that its handling of the situation was “not perfect” and that it had not done enough after the alleged sexual assault in 2018.
“We know you are angry and disappointed with Hockey Canada, rightfully so,” the organization wrote in an open letter this summer. “We know we have not done enough to address the actions of some members of the 2018 Youth Squad, or to end the culture of toxic behavior within our game. For that we apologize unreservedly.”
A week later, Hockey Canada said it would conduct a full governance review overseen by an independent third party. The organization also announced it would no longer use the National Equity Fund to settle sexual assault claims.
Hockey Canada’s current board of directors will continue to fulfill their fiduciary duties until a new board is elected, Tuesday’s statement said.