Hockey Saskatchewan says participation not declining amid Hockey Canada hearings
Hockey Saskatchewan said it is not seeing a decline in interest in the sport due to the ongoing Hockey Canada hearings.
Hockey Canada has been the subject of a parliamentary hearing this week, digging into the national organization’s management of sexual assault claims and funding.
“Hockey is really important in our province, it’s really important to small town communities, you know I’m hearing in a lot of communities ‘our numbers are back’ up they’re saying,” Kelly McClintock, the general manager of Hockey Saskatchewan, said.
Even though criticism around the responsibility of hockey culture within Hockey Canada continued on Thursday, in Saskatchewan, some currently involved in it are not concerned.
“I have found Saskatchewan hockey to be amazing,” said Angela Harder, a Saskatoon hockey mom.
Harder’s 10 and 11-year-old daughters play with the Saskatoon Comets, a female hockey league.
She said that this is important that they play on an all girls team, and that she has no problem letting them continue to play the game, despite the controversy at the higher level in Canadian hockey.
“Every year it’s not a fight to get them into hockey, because they love it, she said.
For Harder, keeping her girls interested and engaged in the sport is important for many reason. Her daughters love to watch women’s hockey, which helps to empower them, but also, playing the sport teaches them teamwork and compassion towards others.
“Because then it trickles down into school, and their everyday life, and trying to be as inclusive as possible, with everyone around them,” she said.
That love of hockey and team continues across the province, especially here in Regina.
“We’re up from what we have been the last couple of years, cause of that COVID thing, and now that that’s not in place, we’re up just under 10 percent for where we were last year so that’s a positive,” Blair Watson, the executive director at Hockey Regina Inc., said.
Watson said that since the allegations and hearings involving Hockey Canada began, there has not been much of a deterrent in Regina hockey.
“Since it first came out late spring, we’ve had a handful of people inquire, that’s about it, it’s way up the food chain, so it’s not really affecting us here at the local level,” he explained.
However, that doesn’t mean changes to hockey culture aren’t in order, he said.
“We’re working on some stuff. We’ve done anti-bullying sessions before and so we’re doing mental health sessions right now too, so we’re pretty good here in Regina,” said Watson.
Concerns are still felt across the country in regards to accountability when it comes to hockey culture.
On the same day that Canadian Tire pulled sponsorship from Hockey Canada, Respect Group, a company co-founded by former Swift Current Bronco and sports mental health advocate, Sheldon Kennedy, released a statement that the company was partnering with them on their quest for positive sport culture.
PARTICIPANTS LEGACY TRUST FUND
On Wednesday, Hockey Saskatchewan released a memo for the public, explaining the Participants Legacy Trust Fund.
The intention of this, for General Manager Kelly McClintock, was to educate the public on what the fund’s purpose is and where the money came from.
“I think it was really important to say this isn’t a slush fund it's meant to help protect all the members of Hockey Canada and their members in the events of a lawsuit,” he said.
But money going into this fund has since stopped.
“This was money from before 1995, right so anyone that’s playing minor hockey today, never contributed to this,” said McClintock, who was one of the people in the room when the fund was created.
In the statement posted on Hockey Saskatchewan’s website, the organization explained the content of this fund.
“From September 1986 to August 1995 Hockey Canada could not obtain an insurance provider and was essentially ‘self-insured.’ Fees collected from participants registered with members (approximately $18 per participant at that time) were placed into the National Equity Fund and used to cover expenses for lawsuits primarily in the areas of injury lawsuits,” the statement said.
Therefore, at this time, interest incurred from the fund comes back to the organizations that contributed during that time, according to McClintock.
“In the last five years, we’re talking it generated 250,000 or so dollars for us and that helps keep our fees down,” said McClintock.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to remove pro-Palestinian encampment from campus
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.