Calls for Hockey Canada sponsors to divert money into survivor supports
As a growing number of corporations suspend their support for Hockey Canada over the organization's handling of sexual assault allegations, there are calls for them to direct their funding into resources for survivors instead.
Battered Women's Support Services, a Vancouver-based non-profit organization, has launched a petition urging Telus, Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons and other companies that have pulled away from Hockey Canada sponsorships to invest in underfunded groups that address sexual and gender-based violence.
Executive director Angela Marie MacDougall told CTV News she's been encouraged to see sponsors taking action over their concerns with Hockey Canada, but would like to see them go a step further.
"This is also a time for them to invest in prevention and intervention services," MacDougall said. "They've been under-resourced for decades and are over-subscribed because of how endemic and how epidemic sexualized violence is."
Sportswear giant Nike is the latest corporation to pause its partnership with Hockey Canada, following similar moves by Chevrolet Canada, Scotiabank, Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons, Esso and Telus.
"We believe significant and substantive action is required to support athletes and transform hockey for future generations," Nike spokesperson Sandra Carreon-John said in a statement Friday.
A number of affiliated hockey organizations, including Hockey Quebec, the Ontario Hockey Federation, Hockey New Brunswick and Hockey Nova Scotia, have also announced they are withholding funding from Hockey Canada – though B.C. Hockey has only said that it is engaged in a review process.
B.C. Hockey has yet to respond to several requests from CTV News for more information.
"This is a good opportunity to not only send a message to Hockey Canada, but also a positive message to boys and girls and young people across the country that sexualized violence is not OK," MacDougall said.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ben Nesbit and The Canadian Press
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