Hockey Canada says it needs to ‘do more’ to foster a safe culture

Hockey Canada insists that it needs to do more in order to foster a safe culture within the sport.

Thursday’s brief statement by the national organization came after the federal government stopped funding it in response to an alleged sexual assault case and an out-of-court settlement.

Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport saidWednesday’s announcement by Hockey Canada stated that it would only restore its public funding if it submitted an incomplete report from a third-party legal firm hired to investigate the incident four years ago, which involved eight players at a gala event in London, Ont.

St-Onge said that he expected answers to all of the questions, the many, about how they handled the whole thing when they testified. “Unfortunately we didn’t get many answers.

“But we did learn some things.”

St-Onge stated that the national sport body must become a signatory of the Office of the Integrity Commission, a new agency of the government with the power to independently investigate allegations of abuse and impose sanctions.

Hockey Canada spokeswoman Esther Madziya acknowledged minister’s conditions and said that the organization recognizes that “leaders need to do more”.

Parliament Hill legislators grilled Scott Smith, Hockey Canada’s president, and Tom Renney, outgoing CEO, earlier this week at a Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage meeting on the organization’s handling in relation to the London incident.