Report: Canadian MP to call Hockey Canada whistleblower to testify about spending on gifts and luxuries for executives

Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage member and NDP member of parliament Peter Julian said he will call an unnamed former Hockey Canada board member to testify about the organization’s spending habits, according to a TSN report by Rick Westhead.

The former board member has been in contact with Julian and also spoke with TSN, maintaining their anonymity because of a non-disclosure agreement they said they signed with Hockey Canada upon their departure from the board.

In conversation with TSN, they said they and other members received high-priced gifts and other perks while serving on the board, including “large-screen televisions, home theatre systems, iPads, and luggage,” as well as expensive dinners paid for by Hockey Canada.

“When you are on the board of Hockey Canada, you live the high life,” the ex-board member told TSN. “You have a credit card and can spend thousands of dollars every month to wine and dine. You stay at the best hotels when you travel for the federation, and you’re invited to attend parties in the hotel’s presidential suite where the board chair stays.”

Julian said the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage will likely ask the unnamed board member to testify after parliament resumes in September.

Hockey Canada has been under scrutiny from the public, sponsors, and parliament as information has surfaced about how the governing body paid to settle multiple lawsuits related to sexual assault allegations.

“The allegations I’ve heard about high-priced wine, gold rings, and luxury accommodation are concerning,” Julian told TSN. “This whistleblower is providing important information. The committee needs to hear from them, and Hockey Canada has to come clean with what it’s been doing with registration fees and why they have not invested in stopping sexual assaults.”

Hockey Canada does not publicly disclose specific details of its revenue or spending, despite previously receiving funding from the Canadian federal government.