The local minor hockey association is bracing for the possibility of having all its current volunteers put through a police check as part of the Canadian Hockey Association’s revised harassment and abuse policy.
“The whole idea is to protect the kids,” said Lynn Kellar, president of the Fort Frances Minor Hockey Association, who attended a two-day meeting in Thunder Bay with vice-president Wayne Allen earlier this month.
Kellar added he will find out more about will happen regarding the policy within the next month.
“But we just didn’t get enough information. [Implementing the policy] is easy to say but hard to administer,” he stressed.
The checks, to be done at an OPP station, would cost $25. But due to the potential cost of running each volunteer through these, individuals would have to cover the cost of their own check.
While the Thunder Bay Amateur Hockey Association is looking into implementing the policy, both Pat Kirby (Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association) and Mike McGraw (Canadian Hockey Association), admitted the policy is not mandatory for each association.
In a revised Harassment and Abuse policy dated May 22 and sent out to each association across Canada, CHA noted its new policy is in place to “ensure its participants are provided meaningful opportunities and enjoyable experiences in a safe, sportsmanlike environment.”
The CHA has promoted awareness of all forms of abuse and neglect by providing educational materials and programs for participants, parents, volunteers, and staff members.
Last June, Don Smith, a sports consultant and player advocate for the Manitoba hockey association, held a one-day workshop here entitled “Screening out Sexual Predators in Sport.”
The CHA has become a leader in implementing such programs after NHL’er Sheldon Kennedy acknowledged being sexually abused by his coach, Graham James, while a member of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos.
In the 10-page bulletin received by the local minor hockey association, the CHA said it expects every parent, volunteer, and staff member to take all “reasonable” steps to ensure the safety of all players and protect them from any form of abuse.
But Kellar questioned the feasibility of such checks. While he said they could prove beneficial in some cases, he admitted he found it impossible to foresee how some of the larger associations–specifically the Metro Toronto association which has about 500,000 players under its direction–could have each and every volunteer put through a check.
Although the much smaller local women’s hockey league has yet to receive the CHA’s policy, it has held “informal” talks as to the implementation of mandatory police checks.
“It’s a topic that has been discussed, and it’s certainly something we would give a strong look at,” said coach Stuart McIvor.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
