In a report published on Friday morning, Hockey Canada said there were 512 acts of discrimination reported by officials in 2021-22 and another 415 alleged incidents that were “not witnessed” by an official.
The 16-page report breaks down the incidents, both reported and alleged, by age, gender, member organization and type of incident. Of the 512 incidents witnessed by officials, 61 percent are said to have involved sexual orientation or gender identity, with race (18 percent) and disability (11 percent) the other leading factors.
The Ontario Hockey Federation, the largest governing hockey body in Canada, had the highest reported incidents at 152, while Hockey Eastern Ontario had the highest per capita at 0.31 percent. Hockey North, which looks after the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, reported no incidents among its 1,826 players.
Regarding alleged incidents, the OHF again had the highest number at 139, while Hockey PEI had the highest per capita at 0.38 percent with 21 incidents in its 5,570-player base. Racial incidents saw the highest number of alleged cases at 47 percent, while sexual orientation or gender identity sat in second at 40 percent.
That’s a total of 927 incidents included in Hockey Canada’s report. Fifty-five percent of the official-reported incidents came in the under-18 age group, while 76 percent occurred at a “competitive” level.
Hockey Canada said 67 percent of the allegations were reported against males, while officials reported 55 percent of the incidents. The organization said it will share a similar report after the 2022-23 season based around rule 11.4, which focuses on discrimination.
“Education, awareness and discussion on processes were necessary in order to make improvements,” the report said. “As a result, there were inconsistencies in the rule application at times.”
Hockey Canada has been under scrutiny since a report in May revealed that Hockey Canada settled a sexual assault lawsuit related to an alleged incident at a 2018 gala in London, Ont. None of the allegations has been proven in court at the time of publication.
One of the biggest pressure points was Canada’s use of funds – namely the National Equity Fund – to pay off sexual assault allegations. In July, reports surfaced that Hockey Canada paid just under $9 million to settle 21 cases of sexual assault since 1989. Last month, former Supreme Court judge Thomas Cromwell released an independent review of Hockey Canada’s governance.
Hockey Canada’s new board and chair will be voted on Dec. 17 after the previous board agreed to step down earlier this year. CEO Scott Smith departed the company in October.
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