Hockey Canada and its Members want to end the culture of silence that exists in parts of hockey. To help ensure that we are a safe space for raising concerns, Hockey Canada has established a new, fully independent, and confidential reporting mechanism for all individuals regarding any incidents involving Hockey Canada sanctioned programming as outlined in the Action Plan. This reporting mechanism is known as the Independent Third Party and is led by Brian Ward and Erin Durant.
The role of the independent third party is to:
- receive all hockey related maltreatment, sexual violence, harassment, abuse or discrimination complaints by someone affiliated with Hockey Canada;
- analyze complaints in light of Hockey Canada and Member policies and determine how they are to be managed and the proper jurisdiction;
- where applicable, ensure matters are properly reported to law enforcement or child protection services;
- retain investigators and dispute resolution panels who are also independent of Hockey Canada;
- work with Canada’s Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner and the Member associations to ensure no gaps in complaint coverage and that all complaints are handled in accordance with applicable policies and that decisions are documented in writing.
The new Hockey Canada Discipline and Complaints policy that outlines the role of the Independent Third Party and the applicable processes is available for download here.
A key feature of the Independent Third Party structure is its independence from Hockey Canada. The Independent Third Party has sole jurisdiction to handle complaints and keeps the identity of complainants confidential from Hockey Canada and Member associations. The Independent Third Party will not be unduly influenced by anyone at Hockey Canada regarding the complaint administration process. Although the Independent Third Party mechanism is staffed by some lawyers, those lawyers do not provide any legal advice to Hockey Canada.
Hockey Canada will receive anonymized reports from the Independent Third Party from time to time documenting the number of complaints received, categorizing complaints and reporting on other metrics such as response times and the time required to close complaints. This reporting protects the identity of all those involved with a complaint process while also ensuring proper oversight of the performance of the Independent Third Party.
Reporting Abuse or Harassment is often a difficult process. The Independent Third Party is committed to operating in a trauma informed manner. For example:
- All reports will be kept entirely confidential, in line with the wishes of the person making the complaint. This includes confidentiality from Hockey Canada and Member association staff.
- All Complaints will be followed up in a timely manner.
- The Independent Third Party has developed resources to share with survivors of abuse and can direct survivors to additional supports.
- The Independent Third Party answers questions about the complaint process.
- Complaints are taken seriously and rigorously examined.
The Independent Third Party is staffed by a number of diverse professionals reflecting both gender and racial diversity. Service is available in both French and English.
Additional resources will be developed as the Independent Third Party continues its work and analyzes the ongoing needs to ensure a safe and trauma informed complaint mechanism.
Female Hockey Day!
Hockey Winnipeg’s Female Council is excited to host a Female Hockey Day for all female players participating in the following grassroots programs: U7 House League, First Shift & Hockey Winnipeg’s U11 Recreational Program.
All U7 female hockey players, Female First Shift participants & Female U11 Recreational Program participants are invited to take part in a free 1-hour ice session at the Hockey For All Centre (formerly known as the Bell MTS Iceplex) on Monday, February 20th.
This event is an opportunity for female hockey players to engage and play alongside other female players in a fun and safe environment, while getting the experience of playing on an all-female team. The ice times will be instructed by strong female leaders in the hockey community and families will have an opportunity to learn more about the Female Hockey Programs being offered by their area associations.
Ice times will be held from 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM. All scheduled ice times will be confirmed and communicated through email by Friday, February 17th.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Janelle Forcand, Grassroots Program Coordinator at grassroots@hockeywinnipeg.ca
Registration closes Tuesday, February 14th.
REMINDER : Cold/Flu season
ATTENTION : Hockey Winnipeg asks that teams and officials will no longer shake hands at the beginning and end of games. Teams are to line up on their respective blue lines at the end of games and salute each other by way of stick tap.
Also, officials will not be required to pick up broken sticks and mouth guards that end up on the ice. Coaches are to instruct players to retrieve their own broken sticks and mouth guards that end up on the ice.
These changes in routine will remain in place until further notice.
The Winnipeg ICE and Hockey Winnipeg are excited to announce the Dianne Woods Memorial Weekend inside the ICE Cave
Memorial Weekend
The Winnipeg ICE and Hockey Winnipeg are excited to announce the Dianne Woods Memorial Weekend inside the ICE Cave when the ICE take on the Moose Jaw Warriors on January 21st (8pm) and January 22nd (5pm). Saturday Night (Jan 21) is also Parent & Billet Appreciation Night presented by Hilton Garden Inn Winnipeg South.
All minor hockey teams and coaches have the opportunity to bring their teams to a game through the Winnipeg ICE and Hockey Winnipeg partnership. The tickets will be complementary for players and coaches. Additional parent or sibling tickets purchased using the promo code HKYWPG will see a portion of their ticket purchase be donated back to the Dianne Woods Memorial Player Financial Assistance program.
To book your team into either of these two games, please email info@50below.ca with the subject line Dianne Woods.
Hockey Winnipeg Spring Program Details
Hockey Winnipeg is once again hosting our spring development programs in April, 2023. The details of our three programs are as follows:
Hockey Winnipeg U13 Female Challenge Cup: April 3-9, Gateway and St. Vital arenas. Open to 2010 and 2011 born AA and A1 female athletes in Winnipeg. Registration cost will be approximately $175.00/athlete. The top players from this program will be selected to advance to Hockey Manitoba’s Female Prospects program which will be held at Stride Place in Portage La Prairie from April 14-16 (additional cost will be required to participate in the Female Prospects program).
Hockey Winnipeg U13 Prospects Cup: April 10-16, Southdale arena (east rink). Open to 2010 born AA male athletes in Winnipeg. Registration cost will be approximately $175.00/athlete. The top players from this program will be selected to advance to Hockey Manitoba’s Rising Stars Plus+ program which will be held at the Hockey For All Centre in Winnipeg from April 28-30 (additional cost will be required to participate in the Rising Stars Plus+ program).
Hockey Winnipeg U14 Vice President’s Cup: April 10-16, Southdale arena (west rink). Open to 2009 born AAA and AA male athletes in Winnipeg. Registration cost will be approximately $175.00/athlete. The top players from this program will be selected to advance to Hockey Manitoba’s Director’s Cup program which will be held at the Hockey For All Centre in Winnipeg from April 28-30 (additional cost will be required to participate in the Director’s Cup program).
Programs contact – Brent Poplawski, development@hockeywinnipeg.ca
Game cancellations December 16th
The following games have been cancelled due to weather conditions
Hockey Canada releases Final Independent Governance Review from Former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell
Hockey Canada is releasing the final report from the independent third-party governance review, led by former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Honourable Thomas Cromwell, C.C. The review, and its accompanying recommendations, are intended to provide Hockey Canada with the capacity to play its important role in making the changes in its governance model that are necessary to create the foundation upon which to rebuild the confidence of stakeholders and the public.
Click the link to read the rest of the article on the Hockey Manitoba Website.
https://www.hockeymanitoba.ca/news/hockey-canada-releases-final-independent-governance-review-from-former-supreme-court-justice-thomas-cromwell/
Safe Sport Independent Complaint Process
Independent Third Party
Hockey Canada and its Members want to end the culture of silence that exists in parts of hockey. To help ensure that we are a safe space for raising concerns, Hockey Canada has established a new, fully independent, and confidential reporting mechanism for all individuals regarding any incidents involving Hockey Canada sanctioned programming as outlined in the Action Plan. This reporting mechanism is known as the Independent Third Party and is led by Brian Ward and Erin Durant.
The role of the independent third party is to:
The new Hockey Canada Discipline and Complaints policy that outlines the role of the Independent Third Party and the applicable processes is available for download here.
A key feature of the Independent Third Party structure is its independence from Hockey Canada. The Independent Third Party has sole jurisdiction to handle complaints and keeps the identity of complainants confidential from Hockey Canada and Member associations. The Independent Third Party will not be unduly influenced by anyone at Hockey Canada regarding the complaint administration process. Although the Independent Third Party mechanism is staffed by some lawyers, those lawyers do not provide any legal advice to Hockey Canada.
Hockey Canada will receive anonymized reports from the Independent Third Party from time to time documenting the number of complaints received, categorizing complaints and reporting on other metrics such as response times and the time required to close complaints. This reporting protects the identity of all those involved with a complaint process while also ensuring proper oversight of the performance of the Independent Third Party.
Reporting Abuse or Harassment is often a difficult process. The Independent Third Party is committed to operating in a trauma informed manner. For example:
The Independent Third Party is staffed by a number of diverse professionals reflecting both gender and racial diversity. Service is available in both French and English.
Additional resources will be developed as the Independent Third Party continues its work and analyzes the ongoing needs to ensure a safe and trauma informed complaint mechanism.
Complaints can be submitted by email to complaints@sportcomplaints.ca
Hockey Manitoba Branch Statment
The 13 leaders of the provincial and territorial Hockey Canada Branches gathered for critical meetings on Saturday. Branch leaders embraced the recommendations of Justice Thomas Cromwell, C.C. in his Interim Governance Review Report. View the full article:
https://www.hockeymanitoba.ca/news/hockey-manitoba-branch-statement/
Hockey Canada – Calls for Change
Hockey Manitoba’s Board of Directors released a statement regarding the ongoing situation with Hockey Canada. You can view it on hockey Manitoba’s website
Hockey Winnipeg supports this position fully. We are standing alongside other minor hockey organizations, politicians, media outlets and sponsors in calling for full-scale change in the leadership of Hockey Canada. This includes senior staff and the Board of Directors. The words and actions of our governing body do not reflect the opinions and values of our Association or our membership. By making these changes Hockey Canada can begin the process of rebuilding their procedures and regaining the trust of Canadian Hockey families.
2022/23 Coach Development & Mentorship Program
In partnership with Evolution Hockey, Hockey Winnipeg is pleased to offer our 2022/23 Coach Development & Mentorship Program! The program is open to all Hockey Winnipeg coaches (HL, A3, A2, A1, AA, and AAA; U7-U18) and offers several non-certification clinics (both virtual and on-ice) that cover a variety of topics designed to help coaches throughout the season. All coaches who register can attend as many webinar and on-ice clinics as they would like. Registration is completely FREE.
The clinic topics (and the coaches they are primarily designed for) include: Intro to U7 (U7 coaches), U9 Skills (U7&U9 coaches), U9 Practice Planning (U7&U9 coaches), Goaltending 1 (U9&U11 coaches), Puck Control (U11-U18 coaches), Shooting & Scoring (U11-U18 coaches), Defense Skills & Tactics (U11-U18 coaches), Forward Skills & Tactics (U11-U18 coaches), Goaltending 2 (U13-U18 coaches), Small Area Skills (U13-U18 coaches), Hockey Canada Network App (all coaches), The 30 Minute Coach (all coaches), Skating 1 (all coaches), and Small Area Games (all coaches).
PLUS – Following the webinar and on-ice coach clinics in October, coaches can attend the on-ice mentorship clinics throughout the remainder of the season.
The schedule for the program can be found here: Hockey Winnipeg Coach Development & Mentorship Program Schedule
Complete the information below to register