Front Burner

Hockey Canada's sexual assault crisis deepens

Despite a police investigation into a second group sexual assault claim involving national junior players, and revelations of millions of dollars in assault settlements, Hockey Canada’s CEO is refusing to resign.
Lawyer Andrew Winton sits alongside witnesses Scott Smith, Hockey Canada president and CEO, and Brian Cairo, Hockey Canada chief financial officer, as they appear at the standing committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa on Wednesday. ( The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Despite a police investigation into a second group sexual assault claim involving national junior players, and revelations of millions of dollars in assault settlements, Hockey Canada's CEO is refusing to resign. 

Hockey Canada has settled 21 sexual assault claims. For nine of those cases, it used a fund that draws in part from players' registration fees, paying out $7.6 million dollars. 

The scope of Hockey Canada's settlements was just one revelation from parliamentary committee hearings this week, where MPs probed the organization's handling of an alleged group sexual assault in 2018 involving national junior players.

Today The Athletic's Dan Robson, a hockey writer who has reported extensively on this issue, joins Front Burner to discuss why Hockey Canada's promise to change is being met with skepticism.

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