In one case, Hockey Canada used those funds to settle a multi-million dollar lawsuit after a complainant alleged she was the victim of a group sexual assault involving World Junior players in 2018. CBC News informally investigated a dozen national sports organizations (NSOs) and none admitted to having similar funds. Many NSOs are in the process of changing their complaints process to one provided by the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) and the Independent Sports Abuse-Free Complaints Office, although some still have their own internal reporting systems or use independent third parties to address such claims. Richard Powers, a lawyer and associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, says that while “there’s nothing wrong” with having these funds — “it’s good governance and a very good business decision” — there are problems. with “transparency” about how fees paid by hockey families across the country were used. “That’s really the critical factor here — and one of the things they’re going to have to change going forward if they want to [attempt] to regain the trust of Canadians.” Richard Powers, an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, says it’s good business and good governance for national sports organizations to protect themselves from non-insurance claims. (Anne-Marie Jackson/Toronto Star)

Why does Hockey Canada have these funds?

Former Hockey Canada officials confirmed the existence of the National Equity Fund and Participant Legacy Trust Fund. A third fund was discovered by former High Court judge Thomas Cromwell, who was tasked with looking into a controversial reserve fund used to quietly settle uninsured liabilities – including sexual assault claims. His interim report found that the reserve fund is necessary, but also revealed serious flaws in the way it was handled. During a July 27 parliamentary hearing, Brian Cairo, Hockey Canada’s chief financial officer, told MPs the equity fund was established in 1995 because “certain risks cannot be insured” by commercial liability insurance. “It was recognized that there are just some contingencies where claims are not insured and you can think of Graham James,” Cairo said, referring to the former hockey coach convicted of sexually abusing players in the 1980s and early 1990s. Of the nine claims paid by the reserve fund for a total of $7.6 million, $6.8 million of those were related to the James case, Cairo said. Lawyer Andrew Winton sits next to witnesses Scott Smith, President and Chief Operating Officer of Hockey Canada, and Hockey Canada Chief Financial Officer Brian Cairo as they appear before the standing committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa in July. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press) Hockey Canada has had sexual harassment insurance coverage since 1998 and has used it to settle 12 sexual assault claims totaling $1.3 million. However, he did not use insurance to cover the 2018 case. The money for that settlement came from registration fees paid by hockey families across Canada, hidden in those three funds. “There are times, however, when the premiums get so high because of the number and size of claims, that you balance that against the cost of self-insuring,” Powers said, noting that doctors and lawyers sometimes pay into a self-insured fund for covering medical or legal malpractice claims.

Sport “haves and have-nots”

While it may be good business practice, most NSOs can’t afford such funds — they’re just trying to survive, said Eric MacIntosh, a professor of sports management at the University of Ottawa. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a fund to protect against these contingencies? Ideally, yes,” said MacIntosh, who researches culture and high-performance sports in Canada. He is also a former hockey player and now coaches his own children. “In practice, I think it’s very difficult. A lot of national sports organizations in our country are underfunded, they’re understaffed. It’s a have-and-have-not in our Canadian sports system.” Although it may be a good business practice, most NGOs cannot afford to have capital to “insure. versus liabilities — they’re just trying to survive, said Eric MacIntosh, a professor of sports management at the University of Ottawa. (Eric McIntosh) Concordia University economics professor Moshe Lander says that while he doesn’t know of any other NSOs with funds similar to Hockey Canada’s, he finds it hard to believe there aren’t any, since most sports carry similar risks of power imbalances between adult coaches and youth. athletes. He said it was also possible for agencies to confuse and distract the auditor general from discovering such funds. “There are a lot of ways you can cover these things,” he said. “It’s really required that it’s the victims who started saying, ‘I got paid and I’m going to break my non-disclosure agreement because this is for the best.’ Move on. Sue me. Let’s see this in public.” “ CBC News informally looked at a dozen national sports associations, and none admitted to having funds similar to those used by Hockey Canada. Soccer Canada did not respond in time for publication. (Mike Flippo/Shutterstock)

What other national sports organizations are saying

CBC News reached out to 12 other national sports organizations to find out if they have similar funds. Soccer Canada was the only one that did not provide responses in time for publication, although a spokesperson said the request was in the queue.

Athletics Canada

Athletics Canada does not and has not had, as part of its budget, a contingency fund for non-insurance liabilities, said Caroline Sharp, national team communications specialist. He would not directly answer whether Athletics Canada, the national body of track and field athletes, has ever settled a case out of court, saying the range of conduct that constitutes abuse or harassment is so broad — from comments that could be construed as harassment, to conduct that includes grooming and sexual assault — the process allows for “informal resolution.” “Sports Canada does not know the total number of cases that have been resolved through informal means,” he said. Since 2015, allegations of violations of the organization’s Code of Conduct for the Prevention and Response of Abuse in Sport have gone through Athletic Canada’s Office of the Commissioner, which Sharp says operates “completely independently” of Athletics Canada. As of March 31, 2023, complaints involving Athletics Canada will be submitted to OSIC. Athletics Canada has introduced new policies aimed at protecting athletes from misconduct and encouraging whistleblowers to come forward. (Christine Olsson/The Associated Press)

Baseball Canada

Baseball Canada is committed to Safe Sport and the safety of its members and is currently moving through OSIC’s non-sports abuse complaint process, media spokesman Adam Morissette said in an emailed response. He did not respond to questions about whether Baseball Canada has settled cases out of court, whether it has a contingency fund as part of its budget to cover non-insurance liabilities and, if so, whether that fund has been used to cover allegations of a sexual nature. where the funds came from or if he has insurance to cover claims of sexual harassment or abuse.

Boxing Canada

Boxing Canada says it hasn’t settled a case out of court in 15 years. “We have no case or allegation on file before then, which leads us to believe that no case occurred before any of the present staff were in place or historically,” Executive Director Roy Halpin said in an email. He said the agency does not now have, nor has it had, as part of its budget a contingency fund from which to cover non-insurance liabilities. He also does not have an insurance policy that covers non-insurable liabilities, such as claims of sexual harassment or abuse, according to Halpin.

Canadian basketball

“Canada Basketball does not have a contingency fund for uninsured liabilities,” but does have malpractice coverage as part of its general liability insurance policy, Matt Walker, director of communications and content, wrote in an email to CBC News. “Canada Basketball has not been involved in uninsured liability cases,” he wrote. Basketball Canada is also transitioning to OSIC’s sport-abuse-free complaint and investigation process, but Walker said it will keep the independent third-party reporting process in place for matters not covered by OSIC’s jurisdiction.

Soccer Canada

“Soccer Canada does not have a dedicated fund for non-insurance liabilities. To my knowledge, there has never been a payment related to allegations of a sexual nature,” executive director Shannon Donovan wrote in an email. “We understand that due to the nature of our sport, football can be considered inherently dangerous. As a result, we continue to do our due diligence to ensure we have adequate affordable insurance coverage for our members.” Donovan said there may be instances in the lawsuit or insurance claim process where certain liabilities are handled separately, but those are always handled through their insurance provider. Football Canada says it is finalizing its agreement with OSIC on all abuse-related matters, which can refer to anything from allegations of abuse to allegations of poor coaching.

Gymnastics Canada

Gymnastics Canada says it has never settled an abuse or mistreatment case out of court, “never had or considered establishing a ‘self-insurance fund’” and has not…