Hockey N.L. withholding player fees from Hockey Canada amid sexual assault claims

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This article was published 07/10/2022 (809 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The governing organization for amateur hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador has become the latest provincial body to declare it will withhold player fees from Hockey Canada.

Hockey N.L. said in a statement posted Friday to its website it will not be submitting its $3-per-player participant fee to Hockey Canada while the national governing body is under independent review.

Hockey Canada has been under intense scrutiny since May, when it was revealed that an undisclosed settlement had been paid to a woman who alleged in a $3.55-million lawsuit she was sexually assaulted by eight players in London, Ont., in 2018.

It has also come to light that Hockey Canada kept a fund partly maintained by minor hockey registration fees to pay for uninsured liabilities, including sexual assault and abuse claims.

Hockey New Brunswick said Friday it would withhold the fees, following similar moves by provincial bodies including the Ontario Hockey Federation, Hockey Quebec and Hockey Nova Scotia.

Hockey N.L. also announced Thursday that it recently established a sexual violence prevention program for its members, as well as an LGBTQ2+ policy, but it stopped short of cutting ties with Hockey Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2022.