CALGARY, Alta. – At a special meeting today, Hockey Canada and its Members passed the first set of By-Law changes recommended by former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Honourable Thomas Cromwell, C.C., to ensure that the nomination process for the Hockey Canada Board of Directors is in line with best practices.
The By-Law changes were identified in the interim report from the ongoing independent third-party governance review by Mr. Cromwell.
With all Board positions open for election, these changes are put in place in advance of the new Board of Directors election on Dec. 17, 2022, and represent tangible action in response to calls for change at Hockey Canada.
The amendments that will take effect immediately include:
- All applications for Hockey Canada Board of Directors positions, including the Chair, will be reviewed and vetted by the independent Nominating Committee. No names will be added to the voting ballot without the Nominating Committee’s approval.
- The new Board of Directors elected later this year will serve a one-year term as a transition Board, rather than the standard two years. The transition Board will be focused on accomplishing key urgent tasks that need to be accomplished in the short term.
- The deadline for applications to be submitted to the Nominating Committee will be Nov. 10, 2022. This allows additional time for the Nominating Committee to engage a third-party recruiting firm to help with the vetting process and due diligence.
- Given the change in timing for application submission, materials related to the nomination process will be provided to the Members by Nov. 28, 2022.
These are part of the first wave of changes made to address Mr. Cromwell’s interim recommendations.
The 13 leaders of the provincial and territorial Hockey Canada branches remain committed to working with Hockey Canada to make the changes necessary to make hockey a safer environment for all participants.
We look forward to providing further public updates in relation to future progress as we work to regain the trust of Canadians and address systemic issues in and around Canada’s game.
