CALGARY-
The federal government suspending funding for Hockey Canada due to distant problems of the women’s national team may still affect it.
The Canadian women’s and Paralympic hockey teams rely heavily on federal funding to operate.
Most of the training costs for the men’s teams are borne by the professional or youth clubs that loan players to Hockey Canada for international tournaments.
So when federal sports minister Pascale St-Onge froze Hockey Canada’s funding over its handling of an alleged sexual assault by members of the 2018 junior men’s world team, women worried about the financial consequences for their equipment.
“It sure is a concern,” forward Blayre Turnbull said. “We consider ourselves professional athletes without professional salary.
“A lot of our money comes from the government and other organizations like that. Our program would be greatly affected if the funding freeze continues.”
Among the 142 senior and development players currently participating in a Calgary camp are 19 women who won Olympic gold in Beijing in February.
The first women’s world championship to be held in the same calendar year as the Olympic Games opens on August 25 in Denmark.
The Canadian women will try to defend the world title won a year ago in Calgary, where they beat the USA in overtime in the final.
Their preparation in Denmark is not limited, but the financial future of the women’s program looks murky for the players under the current sanctions.
“It’s a valid concern, especially in the long term,” Gina Kingsbury, director of hockey operations for the women’s teams at Hockey Canada, told The Canadian Press. “We are entering territory that we do not fully understand. I’m trying to focus on what I can control.
“In the short term, the message from Hockey Canada was that it will not affect us here this season. It is normal to think in the long term, what are these impacts? If it affects Hockey Canada in the long term, it will affect our women’s program.”
St-Onge suspended funding for Hockey Canada after TSN’s Rick Westhead reported that the organization reached a financial settlement with a woman who alleged that members of the 2018 men’s world junior team sexually assaulted her at a Hockey Canada event.
Hockey Canada later revealed that members of the 2003 junior men’s world team were under investigation for alleged sexual assault in Nova Scotia. The allegations have not been proven in court.
But the federal money is withheld until Hockey Canada meets St-Onge’s conditions. They are a financial audit of the organization, producing the recommendations of an investigative report by an outside law firm, developing an action plan to change the culture, and becoming a signatory to the Office of the Integrity Commissioner.
Hockey Canada has taken steps to meet those terms, but St-Onge told members of Parliament last week that the money will not flow again “until we are satisfied that the conditions have been met.”
“I think it’s really important that these issues are talked about, that we’re going to get to the bottom of it,” women’s forward Brianne Jenner said. “That’s the hope and I think all Canadians want to see that.”
The women’s team received $6 million in financing from Own The Podium over the four years leading up to Beijing, where Canada edged out the USA for gold, while the men’s teams received $1.8 million over the same four years.
OTP allocated $4 million during the Beijing quad to the men’s parahockey team that won silver.
The women hope not to pay a disproportionate price for the actions of others under the Hockey Canada umbrella.
“Actions have consequences and people are responsible for those actions, but what I know is that the culture of women’s hockey that we have created, and it has taken a lot of work, is a safe environment,” defender Jocelyne Larocque said. “I think the Canadians who follow us know that.”
As full-time high-performance athletes, women’s and parahockey athletes receive monthly checks from Sport Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) of approximately $1,800 per month.
Sport Canada has confirmed that those checks will continue.
“There has been no suspension of AAP funding for Paralympic or women’s national team program carded athletes,” a spokeswoman told The Canadian Press in an email.
While Imperial Oil, Scotiabank and TELUS have withdrawn their sponsorship of the junior men’s hockey world championship, those companies have indicated they will continue to financially support youth programs and women’s events.
“I hope the public understands that our women’s game is healthy, that the culture that we’re talking about doesn’t quite apply to our side,” Kingsbury said.
“We are proud of the culture and the environment that we are building, we are proud of the program that we have, we are proud of the people that are part of that program, from top to bottom.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 5, 2022.