By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – Hockey Canada said on Tuesday Chief Executive Scott Smith has left the organisation and all board members have agreed to step down as the national governing body faces increased scrutiny over its handling of sexual assault allegations.
The organisation, which has lost a many corporate sponsors amid the scandal, has been under fire since news broke in May of an alleged group sexual assault involving members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team and subsequent out-of-court settlement.
An interim management committee will be put in place, which will guide the national governing body until no later than a newly constituted board appoints a new chief executive to lead the organization, Hockey Canada said in a statement.
Hockey Canada also said its members will be asked to select a new slate of directors by no later than the virtual election scheduled for Dec. 17. The board will not seek re-election and will fulfil its duties until a new board is elected.
Smith, who has worked for Hockey Canada in various roles since 1995, said in July less than a month after taking over as CEO that he had no plans to resign from his position.
At the time, Smith told a Canadian parliamentary hearing on the scandal that he was right person to spearhead efforts for positive change within the sport across the hockey-loving country.
The allegations against the unnamed players have not been proved in court but the Canadian federal government has frozen funding to the national governing body over its handling of the alleged sexual assault.
The embattled organization has since said it will no longer use a fund that was financed by registration fees of players across the country to settle sexual assault claims and also announced a full governance review.
As recent as last week, Hockey Canada’s interim board chair, who resigned over the weekend, defended the current leadership in place at the national governing body while speaking during a parliamentary committee meeting.
The Canadian federal government has already frozen funding to the national governing body over its handling of the alleged sexual assault while Nike Inc last week became the latest sponsor to suspend its relationship with Hockey Canada.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
