Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses for joining us this morning.
I want to begin with a brief comment.
When Hockey Canada appeared before us in July, I left that meeting with a small glimmer of hope that perhaps Hockey Canada had got the message—that we would see meaningful change. Then, within weeks of that meeting, we saw Hockey Canada go out and hire Navigator, a crisis communications firm. We saw this asinine survey sent out that diminished the culpability of Hockey Canada.
We hear today that there's a need for “stable” leadership within Hockey Canada.
What really got me was that one week after that meeting, Hockey Canada's board met, and this is what was included in the minutes. The minutes said that it was encouraged to get the message into the public, get ahead of the communication and shift the narrative. They went on to say that the national equity fund is in place to protect children in hockey programs and to take care of any victims; that settlement payments must be viewed in a positive manner, not a negative manner; and that repetition was required to state the narrative.
Madam Chair, I find it deeply troubling that the organization is more concerned about shifting the narrative than actually meaningfully implementing change within this organization. I offer that as a comment at the outset.
My first question is for Mr. Brind'Amour.
We understand that on Saturday, May 7, 2022, the Hockey Canada board met in camera for two hours and three minutes to discuss the settlement of the London incident. I would like to know what information was provided to the board by Mr. Smith to make that settlement, and exactly what the board approved. What was the approval that was given by the board to the leadership of Hockey Canada?