Canadian Tire ending Hockey Canada sponsorship over its handling of sexual assault allegations - The Globe and Mail

Canadian Tire Corp. is ending its Hockey Canada sponsorship for good, as the organization faces growing backlash from corporate Canada over its handling of sexual assault allegations.

“In our view, Hockey Canada continues to resist meaningful change and we can no longer confidently move forward together,” Jane Shaw, Canadian Tire’s senior vice-president of communications, wrote in a statement on Thursday.

The news follows announcements on Wednesday by other major Hockey Canada sponsors Tim Hortons, Bank of Nova Scotia and Telus, that they would not be sponsoring any men’s events for the 2022-23 season, including the World Junior championship tournament being held this winter in Halifax. Also on Thursday, Esso parent company Imperial Oil and Hockey Canada’s insurance broker, BFL Canada (which is also a sponsor) both confirmed that they would pull support for men’s programs for the 22-23 season and would not support the tournament. Esso’s support will not be restored “until we see meaningful accountability, transparency and change,” spokesperson Keri Scobie wrote in a statement.

PepsiCo, Chevrolet Canada and BDO Canada all said on Thursday that there is no change to the decision those companies made in June to pause their sponsorship activities. All three provided statements reiterating previous calls for clarity on actions Hockey Canada will take in response to the allegations.

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Canadian Tire was the first international sponsor to announce a decision to permanently cut off support for the organization. On Thursday following the Canadian Tire announcement, Sobeys parent company Empire Co. Ltd. confirmed that it chose not to renew its sponsorship when the deal expired in June. Sobeys’ partnership with Hockey Canada was limited to sponsorship of the Women’s National Hockey team, and the company is exploring how to continue to support that team directly without any involvement of Hockey Canada, spokesperson Karen White-Boswell wrote in a statement.

“When our contract with Hockey Canada expired at the end of June, we chose not to renew our sponsorship because we were disgusted by all of the allegations and, as importantly, Hockey Canada’s unwillingness to make meaningful change to earn back the trust of Canadians and ensure everyone feels welcome and safe when playing the sport,” Ms. White-Boswell wrote.

For its part, Canadian Tire plans to redirect money it spent on the Hockey Canada sponsorship to “hockey-related organizations that better align with our values,” Ms. Shaw wrote. One of them is The Respect Group, an organization dedicated to preventing bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination.

“We are committed to supporting hockey and sport that is inclusive and safe for all Canadians,” Ms. Shaw wrote.

The move will ratchet up pressure on Hockey Canada, which relies on corporate support for a large portion of its revenue: 43 per cent came from business development and partnerships last year, according to the organization’s annual report, while government assistance amounted to just 6 per cent of the revenue.

On Thursday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa that Hockey Canada’s position on the issue is “nonsensical,” and said the organization has “lost the confidence of Canadians.” At federal hearings on Tuesday, the organization’s interim chair defended its response and the executive team leading Hockey Canada.

“It is inconceivable that folks at Hockey Canada continue to dig in it. It’s not like there’s something extraordinarily special about the people at Hockey Canada that means they are the only people in the country that can run an organization like this,” Mr. Trudeau said. “…There needs to be wholesale change. They need to do it. They need to realize that if – if we have to create an organization, get rid of Hockey Canada and create an organization called Canada Hockey instead, people will look at doing that.”

Minister of Sport Pascal St-Onge echoed that sentiment on Thursday, saying Hockey Canada’s leaders have lost the support of sponsors, Canadian families and their own members.

“So I hope that they understand the message and leave before they burn it to the ground,” Ms. St-Onge told reporters in Ottawa. She said that it is up to the organization’s members to decide the next course of action, but added, “I think it needs new leaders, new directors, and new experts. To renew this organization, it needs to be rebuilt.”

The growing pressure means that during the high-profile World Junior tournament beginning on Dec. 26, big-name brands will be noticeably absent. In addition to Canadian Tire which is no longer a sponsor, companies that have pulled support for this season – Tim Hortons, Esso, Scotiabank and Telus – all confirmed that they will have no presence at the tournament, including pulling their brands from rink-side boards, for example. Tim Hortons and Bank of Nova Scotia both confirmed they also will not be buying ads during the broadcast of the tournament on TSN.

As of mid-afternoon Thursday, TSN, which is owned by Bell Media, had not responded to questions The Globe sent on early Wednesday evening about the decline in advertising sales for the World Juniors. Tim Hortons also typically organizes events in the community during the tournament, which will not be the case this winter.

Other men’s hockey events in the 2022-23 season that will also be affected include The World Junior A Challenge and the Centennial Cup, which is the national Junior A championship.

Many sponsors first paused their support in June, over the organization’s response to sexual-assault allegations.

A Globe and Mail investigation in July revealed that Hockey Canada used an internal reserve built by player registration fees, known as the National Equity Fund, to settle a $3.55-million sexual-assault lawsuit for an undisclosed sum. In the lawsuit, a woman said she was sexually assaulted by members of the 2018 national junior team after a Hockey Canada fundraiser. The players were not named in the court documents, and lawyers for the players have denied the allegations.

On Monday The Globe and Mail revealed that Hockey Canada created a second multimillion-dollar fund, built with player registration fees, to protect its various branches from sexual-assault claims. The organization did not disclose to parents and players how their money was ultimately being used.

The sponsors’ further statements follow federal hearings in Ottawa on Tuesday, where MPs pressed Hockey Canada for information on how money was paid for settlements of sexual assault lawsuits. Hockey Canada’s interim chair Andrea Skinner defended the organization and told members of parliament that it was being treated as a “scapegoat” for a societal problem.

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2022-10-06 14:54:56Z
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