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Chair of Hockey Canada’s board of directors resigns

Chair of Hockey Canada's board of directors resigns

The latest development in the Hockey Canada controversy over its handling of allegations of sexual assault saw Michael Brind’Amour step down Friday night as chair of its board of directors, effective immediately.

“My final term ends in November 2022, and I know that there is no need to wait for a new era. Immediate action is essential to address the important challenges facing our organization and our sport,” Brind’Amour stated through a Hockey Canada news release.

Hockey Canada board of directors and members will meet in the coming days to determine next steps and to appoint an interim chair.

In June, Hockey Canada’s access to public funds was frozen by the federal government over its response to an alleged sexual assault and subsequent out-of-court settlement.

A woman filed a $3.5-million lawsuit in April that said in 2018, eight hockey players including members of Canada’s world junior team sexually assaulted her. Hockey Canada reached a settlement with a young woman the next month.

The complainant says she has always fully co-operated with a police investigation into her case, despite Hockey Canada originally saying she didn’t.

“We’re starting to see cracks in the fortress, and that’s how the light gets in,” Canada’s sports minister Pascale St-Onge  said Saturday in Niagara Falls, Ont., where she met with provincial and territorial sports leaders on the eve of the Canada Games.

“We’re starting to see cracks in the fortress, and that’s how the light gets in … Canadians have sent a message that they want more and better from sports organizations,” said St-Onge.

“I have already said many times that there needs to be more changes in the leadership … If we keep the same people who have been doing the same pattern over the past 30 years, and that’s what we’ve learned during the audience at the Heritage committee, there’s a chance that we stay in the same patterns.

I do believe there needs to be more diversity around the table when it’s time to make decisions and discussions about the issues and the problems that sports organizations are facing, whether it’s sexual abuse or any other kind of abuse, harassment, discrimination or maltreatment.”

Recently, retail giant Canadian Tire and telecommunications company Telus, among others, paused their Hockey Canada sponsorships.

And last month, Hockey Canada executives testified before a House of Commons committee Wednesday said they’ve paid $8.9 million for sexual abuse settlements to 21 complainants since 1989…

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