Niagara Falls Review e-edition

‘We did a lot of listening,’ says Hockey Canada chair on response to scandal

JOSHUA CLIPPERTON

Hugh Fraser thought he had a decent handle on his new role.

For the most part, that was true. Weeks into chairing Hockey Canada’s newly minted board of directors — and with plenty already on his plate as he looked to help resurrect the scandal-plagued national sport organization following months of cringe-inducing, in-themuck headlines — Fraser was in Halifax for January’s world junior hockey championship final.

The host country secured a dramatic overtime victory to capture gold. Medals were about to be handed out.

The retired judge had no idea that was part of the gig.

“Something nobody told me came with the job,” Fraser recalled with a laugh of doling out post-tournament hardware.

“I found out like 10 minutes before. That aspect never occurred to me.”

He could be forgiven. There was a lot on his mind.

Tabbed to help Hockey Canada out of a dismal period that began 12 months ago Friday, when it was revealed a woman alleged she had been sexually assaulted by members of the 2018 world junior team in London, Ont., four years earlier, Fraser this week reflected on the first five months of a leadership term nearing its midway point.

After the federal government paused funding, corporate sponsors jumped ship, secret accounts and more scandals emerged and Hockey Canada’s previous bosses were grilled by a parliamentary committee, he’s confident the federation is on the right track with a board of directors focused on oversight, transparency and accountability.

“The challenge is getting that message across — that there’s a different approach,” the 70-year-old said.

“It’s been a seven-day-a-week job for the board,” he added.

“The will was always there ... but the biggest challenge is squeezing an awful lot in a relatively short period.”

That included demonstrating to the government there’s been progress — funding was restored last month — and showing corporate and provincial partners the governance changes outlined in a report by former Supreme Court judge Thomas Cromwell are being taken seriously.

Fraser, who also handed out medals at the recent women’s world championship in Brampton, said sponsorship dollars are closing in on levels seen at this time last year in a rebound from that mass corporate exodus, but it took a lot of faceto-face meetings.

“We had to, literally, on a one-byone, partner-by-partner, sponsorby-sponsor basis, sit down with them,” he said.

“This is the plan, this is the goal, these are the priorities,” Fraser added.

“This is what we’ve achieved and what we believe we can achieve.”

Fraser said most were receptive to the first meetings, but needed to see action.

“We wanted to know, ‘ What things do you think we need to do? What suggestions do you have?’ ” he said. “We did a lot of listening and we saw the alignment.

“We said, ‘Check with us again in a couple of months to see if you see the measurable progress.’ ”

There were also difficult decisions at Hockey Canada in a year with those significant funding cuts. Some sponsors wanted to continue support, but only for the women’s and para programs, along with grassroots efforts.

“It meant being leaner in some areas,” said Fraser. “In some cases, we had to do more, or maintain, with less.”

The job is far from done. It’s also been a long road just getting to this point.

SPORTS

en-ca

2023-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://niagarafallsreview.pressreader.com/article/281981791963409

Toronto Star Newspapers Limited