Hockey Canada did not use public funds for legal settlements, federal audit finds – National | 24CA News
Hockey Canada didn’t use public funds issued by Canadian Heritage to pay for sexual assault settlements or associated authorized charges, an audit carried out on behalf of the federal authorities has discovered.
The audit was carried out by consulting agency Samson & Associates, to find out if Hockey Canada was in compliance with current contribution agreements with the Canadian authorities, overlaying actions between 2018-2019 to 2021-2022 underneath the Sport Support Program and the Hosting Program.
A abstract of the audit made a number of conclusions, together with that funds disbursed by the federal authorities to Hockey Canada have been used for that supposed function.
In June 2022, Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge ordered the audit following a TSN report that stated Hockey Canada had settled a $3.55 million sexual assault lawsuit. St-Onge requested the investigation to guarantee that public funds had solely been used to help novice hockey.
Read extra:
Ottawa wants impartial inquiry into “widespread abuse” in Canadian sports activities: educators
Read subsequent:
Part of the Sun breaks free and types a wierd vortex, baffling scientists
The lawsuit concerned a lady who alleged being sexually assaulted by eight junior hockey gamers following a Hockey Canada occasion in 2018 that occurred in London, Ont.
In July 2022, Hockey Canada admitted that the group had paid out 9 settlements with a complete of $7.6 million from its National Equity Fund since 1989.
Hockey Canada had stated then that the group will now not use the National Equity Fund, which is generated partially by kids’s registration charges, to settle sexual assault claims.
The audit additionally discovered that Hockey Canada had an sufficient inner management framework and a budgeting course of in place as set out within the contribution agreements.
The audit workforce has supplied 11 ideas to Hockey Canada to enhance its administration practices and processes, akin to aligning the monetary coding to the contribution settlement funded classes, reviewing the salaries recorded, and documenting monetary processes.
In an announcement launched on Wednesday, Hugh Fraser, chair of the Hockey Canada Board of Directors, stated Hockey Canada is “grateful for the auditor’s review.”
“The Government of Canada is an integral partner in promoting Canada’s game and ensuring communities across the country have access to safe and accessible hockey programming,” stated Fraser.
“We have made significant progress in addressing the government’s concerns to date, and are grateful for the auditor’s review, which serves as another important step in repairing our partnership.”
— with information from the Canadian Press
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
