Lack of confidence in Hockey Canada’s ability to improve culture, poll finds

As Hockey Canada continues to be on the defensive for its handling of several sexual misconduct allegations involving junior national teams, new polling suggests Canadians have lost confidence in the governing body’s ability to shift culture within the sport.

The poll from Angus Reid shows nearly six in 10 Canadians say there is a need for change. However, when it comes to men under the age of 35 who have a connection to youth hockey, about 20 per cent of survey respondents said they didn’t feel sexual harassment or sexual assault was a big issue — or an issue at all.

Evan Moore, who co-authored the book Game Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to Fix It, isn’t surprised about this. He says Hockey Canada and the sport in general have been lurching from scandal after scandal and all of it has been happening as many within the sport push back against any moves to open it up to voices and people who don’t represent the game’s traditional constituencies.

“All the different things that have happened — racism, sexism, homophobia, economics … All these folks who are gate-keepers, whether it’s hockey administrators, parents, players, or journalists, none of this is new.”

From minor hockey up to higher levels of the sport, Moore says there is a toxic, exclusionary culture that needs to be addressed.

“You’re just sitting there like, ‘Why does this continue to happen?’ And you have the folks who say, ‘This is not us. This is not how we do things,'” he said. “This really is how you do things. Every time one scandal comes out, there’s another one cropping up, waiting to replace that one.”

He feels some Canadians may think this is an “American problem.”

“They kind of think, ‘Hey, this only happens down there. These are their issues’ … But all these issues within hockey culture are widespread. They’re not specific to a country or region or anything like that.”

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A good way to help address this issue, Moore says, is for hockey parents to keep people in charge accountable for their actions.

“As a parent, you’re allowed to ask these questions of these folks when you see them or you contact them. ‘What are you doing to make sure this doesn’t happen again? What type of training are you going through?”