Canadian Heritage Committee on Oct. 4th, 2022

[Andrea Skinner]

Madam Chair, my honest answer is that I had hoped that in taking on this interim role I could help provide a different perspective and provide some different information from what I think some people have understood on some of these things, like the settlement with respect to the 2018 allegations.

There will be leadership change, as I said. All nine board positions are up for election in a couple of months' time.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

You really seem to want to keep everyone in place and you talked about stability. Are you afraid of a change in personnel?

Are you afraid to hire new people?

Are you afraid of having a new vision?

You definitely want to keep people in place and seem to put a lot of effort into it.

[Andrea Skinner]

I am absolutely not afraid of change. I welcome it. I believe we have change. We're continuing to change.

I'll go back to a comment I was making earlier, which is that I think there is a significant risk to the organization if all of the board resigns and all of the senior leadership is no longer there. I think that will be very impactful, in a negative way, to our boys and girls who are playing hockey.

Will the lights in the rink stay on? I don't know. We can't predict that. To me, that's not a risk worth taking. That's why I stepped into this role.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

As I understand it, you never think to prepare for a certain succession.

Isn't that right?

[Andrea Skinner]

Sir, I am the new generation. I'm the first female chair of Hockey Canada. I sit on a board that in November 2020 elected three women. Unfortunately, one of them—well, fortunately for her—was elevated to sit as a judge. I am part of the change. That's why I'm here.

There's an election coming up, and I would encourage anyone who thinks they can contribute to this organization in a positive way to apply and to make the game better. I absolutely believe that.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

How many investigations are underway at Hockey Canada?

[Andrea Skinner]

As I understand it, there are three investigations that are ongoing that have been reported to Sport Canada.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Smith reported to us that there were one to two cases per year.

Is that correct?

[Andrea Skinner]

I'm sorry. I can't recall what Mr. Smith said. I know that there are three open instances with Sport Canada. If those are the investigations you are referring to, I believe there are three.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Brind'Amour, how do you explain the fact that, until now, you are the only person who has resigned honourably? No one else has done so.

[Michael Brind’Amour]

Thank you for the question, Mr. Martel.

As I said earlier, this decision is a matter of individual choice. I cannot give you any information about other people.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

You are the only one who has made that choice.

As a lawyer—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

The time is up, Mr. Martel. You have three seconds left.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Can I ask one last question?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

No, you can't. I'm sorry. I will now go to the Liberals.

Mr. Housefather, you have five minutes.

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I would appreciate very succinct answers. When I ask a yes-or-no question, I would like a yes-or-no answer, please.

At your board meeting of August 2, under item 4 it says Scott provided an update on the following items: review of settlements since 2000 and circumstances with each.

Was there a written document provided to the board, Ms. Skinner?

[Andrea Skinner]

No, there was not.

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Was there anything given to the board that Mr. Smith used? Did Mr. Smith, for example, refer to any notes of his in explaining all of the action since 2000 and all of the settlements?

[Andrea Skinner]

I am not aware of what Mr. Smith used to prepare.

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Okay. That's fine.

Madam Chair, I think we'll have to ask for that document.

Let me come back to the administrative practices of Hockey Canada. One of the reasons the committee is having some trouble today is that the minutes we received arrived yesterday, translated; they were sent by Hockey Canada on September 30. That was a bundle of minutes. We didn't receive the other item we requested, which was directors' notes from in camera meetings before you started minuting them.

Let me just ask this question. Like most good corporate organizations, Hockey Canada has historically, since we have minutes going back years, approved the minutes of its meetings at the next regularly scheduled board meeting. There were meetings held April 28 to 30 and May 7 that would normally have been approved at the June 2 meeting. It was on the agenda for the June 2 meeting.

Ms. Skinner, why were the board minutes not approved on June 2?

[Andrea Skinner]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

The minutes were not complete, so they were unable to be approved. The Hockey Canada staff that helps with preparing an initial draft of the minutes was inundated with requests in terms of responding to documents that Mr. Cromwell was requesting for his review. There was a delay in the minutes being prepared for the board's review.

In terms of the September 30 date—

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

It had nothing whatsoever to do with the House of Commons adopting a motion that day to ask this committee to review Hockey Canada, and the knowledge that those minutes would eventually be subpoenaed. Then, those minutes were not approved until either September 8 or September 28.

Ms. Skinner, why were the minutes that were approved on September 8 not delivered to this committee before September 30?

[Andrea Skinner]

My understanding is that the request by this committee was that the minutes be provided by September 30. They were, with the exception, I think, of some that were sent either yesterday or this morning. That was as soon as we were able to get them.

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

There was an ongoing order to provide the minutes as they were approved, and the delay in approving the minutes makes it seem you didn't want us to have the minutes for our meetings in June and July, and that we would get them at the last minute today, which is why we had to summon the unapproved minutes.

Let me just ask the question. When you dealt with the settlement agreement, and Mr. Brind'Amour mentioned that it happened at a meeting on May 19, where is this minuted? Where is the minuting of the board's approving anything to do with the settlement agreement?

[Andrea Skinner]

Thank you, Madam Chair. Sir, that discussion on May 19 that Mr. Brind'Amour referred to occurred in camera. As you know, it's not required to take minutes of discussions that happen in camera—