Scotiabank, Canadian Tire pausing sponsorships with Hockey Canada in wake of settled lawsuit

Trigger warning: this article discusses a sexual assault case.

The dominoes are starting to fall for Hockey Canada in the wake of the now-settled lawsuit that stated that several OHL players sexually assault a woman at a Hockey Canada event in the summer of 2018, as two big sponsors for the organization in Scotiabank and Canadian Tire are pausing their sponsorships.

According to a letter from Scotiabank President CEO Brian J. Porter on Tuesday, Scotiabank is pausing their sponsorship until Hockey Canada takes certain steps “to improve the culture within the sport – both on and off the ice.” Canadian Tire released a statement later on Tuesday, saying that they are “immediately withdrawing its sponsorship support for the upcoming World Juniors and is re-evaluating its relationship with Hockey Canada.”

Hockey Canada has received a lot of heat over not just the settled lawsuit, but how they handled the allegations and investigation of the assault. In a hearing with the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on June 20th, Hockey Canada executives stated that they had known about the allegations as soon as the day after the event, and also did not require players to participate in the investigation afterwards, nor did they know how many players actually participated in the investigation.

“We are deeply disappointed in Hockey Canada’s lack of transparency and accountability around the assault allegations,” said Stephanie Nadalin, Canadian Tire vice-president of communications Stephanie Nadalin. “We are calling on Hockey Canada to do better and live up to their commitment to change the systemic culture of silence in our nation’s sport, and push to make it more inclusive and safe for all.”

Porter’s letter on behalf of Scotiabank included details as to what their sponsorship pause includes. The organization plans to cancel all planned marketing and events with the World Junior Championship in August, redirecting their sponsorship investment for the World Juniors to other programs like the Hockey Canada Assist Fund, and the Women’s World Championship, and donating to the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

“The time for change is long overdue,” said Porter. “We call on Hockey Canada to move with a sense of urgency in order to ensure that the game we love is held to the highest standards, and can truly be hockey for all.”