'This has shone a light on a very big gap': Maritimers in hockey react to Hockey Canada scandal

For hockey coach, player, and parent Andrew Lockyer, the sport has helped provide a special bond between him and his daughter, a 16-year-old goalie.

“This is her 10^th season, she’s played on various teams, she loves the sport, it's definitely something that she and I share,” he says.

For him, the latest Hockey Canada scandal has touched a nerve.

The thought that minor hockey registration money was being used to pay for uninsured liabilities at the organization, including to settle sexual abuse claims, doesn't sit well.

“Our registration fees should be going towards the kids, should be going towards development, and putting these programs in place to ensure the players are ultimately benefiting,” says Lockyer.

“A lot of us who pay an awful lot of money for our kids to play, want to make sure that it's going towards the kids.”

Provincial hockey organizations in the Maritimes are considering their stance, as the national body continues to come under fire.

The pressure on Hockey Canada began in May when it was revealed the organization settled a lawsuit with a woman alleging sexual assault by eight players from the 2018 junior men's hockey team at a June gala event in London, Ont.

That allegation is the subject of three investigations by London police, the National Hockey League and Hockey Canada.

Those at the grassroots of the game in the Maritimes says it’s time for the sport and its governing body to take a hard look at itself.

“I think like every other Canadian right now it's just shock, and a little bit of disappointment,” says Sarah Hilworth, the head coach of the University of New Brunswick's Reds female hockey team.

Hilworth says the stakes are high for female players in the country, many who aspire to play on the national team.

Changing the culture of the organization, she says, is necessary to preserve the game.

“I believe that there needs to be more diversity in our game, whether it's gender, with minorities, people of colour, disability,” Hilworth said. “I believe that there needs to be a positive reflection of who we are as Canadians and it's our Canadian game.”

Sports Sociologist Cheryl MacDonald echoes that sentiment. Now an associate director of the Centre for the Study of Sport and Health at Saint Mary’s University, she’s studied various aspects of the sport over the years, most recently focusing on resource disparity faced by women in the game.

“This has shone a light on a very big gap,” says MacDonald. “In terms of respect and equality for women’s hockey and for women more broadly.”

She says changing how things have been done in the upper echelons of the game means bringing more diverse voices from outside into the boardrooms.

“To celebrate the different perspectives and skills that they bring to the game and its structure has to start happening,” she says. “I don't think we have a choice anymore.”

Lockyer hopes the scandal won't keep families like his from enjoying the sport for generations to come.

“Hopefully the hockey community as a whole can look at this and move forward to heal,” he says.

What happens next in the top ranks of Hockey Canada will reverberate down on the ice.