Hockey Canada Confirms It Has Paid Out $8.9 Million In Sexual Assault Settlements

On July 27, representatives from Hockey Canada appeared before a parliamentary hearing to discuss the body's handling of sexual assault allegations within the organization.

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During the meeting, CEO and president of Hockey Canada Scott Smith laid out part of the plan to address the allegations, which included an independent investigative body and a ban for anyone in the organization unwilling to cooperate with investigations.

In the hearing, it was also revealed that Hockey Canada has given out $7.6 million for settlements in nine cases from its National Equity Fund since 1989.

The bulk of that money, $6.8 million, went to cases related to serial abuser Graham James.

The money for the National Equity Fund comes from registration fees, among other things.

According to CBC, an additional $1.3 million was paid out by insurance in 12 other settlements, of which one perpetrator accounted for four cases and $1 million of the settled money.

This brings the total amount of settlement money to roughly $8.9 million for 21 cases. It was not immediately clear whether these figures include the 2018 settlement made in May of this year.

Smith also stated at the hearing that he will not be resigning from his position.

"You have asked for transparency. You've asked for accountability. You've asked for Hockey Canada to change," said the CEO. "I'm here to lead that change."

"I do believe that I've got the experience to take Hockey Canada and our game to a new place," he later reiterated.

This hearing comes after TSN broke the story that Hockey Canada paid a settlement to a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by eight players in 2018.

While the players are currently unidentified, they included members of Canada's 2018 World Junior team.

Since this came out, The Canadian Press also found that the sports organization had a reserve fund — the National Equity Fund — for uninsured liabilities that had been used to settle sexual assault allegations in Hockey Canada.

Additionally, Hockey Canada announced last week that they had just found out about another group sexual assault that allegedly took place in 2003 during the World Juniors tournament in Halifax, which they said is now under investigation.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual assault, call the Assaulted Women's Helpline at 1-866-863-0511. You can also contact support services for male survivors of sexual assault at 1-866-887-0015. If you need immediate assistance, please call 911 or go to your nearest hospital. Support is available.