Hockey Canada doesn’t voluntarily disclose its audited financials for Canadians to see, and has pushed back against suggestions that it should. The Globe and Mail is making those records public.
Though Hockey Canada collects millions of dollars in public money through registration fees and government grants, Canadians are not entitled to see its financials without first filing requests under the Access to Information Act. For the public, getting responses to those requests can take several months, and sometimes longer.
But this year, with Hockey Canada facing criticism for using registration fees to settle a sexual assault lawsuit, that lack of transparency is under a microscope.
As the public and sponsors alike call for more accountability, The Globe has obtained a set of 35 audited financial statements for Hockey Canada and its fundraising arm, the Hockey Canada Foundation. They span 2004 to 2021, and include financial data going back to 2003.
What the records show is an organization that has grown from a relatively modest operation into a financial powerhouse that presides over vast reserves of liquid assets.
In 2021, Hockey Canada reported total assets worth more than $153-million, compared to $28-million in 2003. That includes $25-million of cash and $118-million worth of investments – which is more than 14 times the value of its investments less than two decades ago. The files are available to be downloaded. They contain redactions made by the Canada Revenue Agency before The Globe obtained them.