Board orders deportation for trucker in horrific Humboldt Broncos crash
The truck driver who caused the horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team has been ordered to be deported.
Financially challenged Canada Soccer took a step toward improving its bottom line Saturday, voting to increase its annual membership fee for players by $4 starting in 2025.
Soccer players will pay a $13 fee, up from $9 in what Canada Soccer says is the first membership fee hike since 2017.
Canada Soccer also has a new president-elect in Peter Augruso. The president and chair of Ontario Soccer ran unopposed after incumbent Charmaine Crooks announced before the vote that she would not seek re-election in order to pursue other opportunities.
The fee increase came in the form of two motions at the annual general meeting in Montreal.
The first called for a raise of $3 to go to the national governing body. The second called for an additional $1 hike with half going to Canadian national youth programs and half going to Project 8, the group behind the women's domestic pro league currently under construction.
The $3 fee increase would generate an extra $2.2 million using current numbers, given Canada Soccer's 2023 annual report lists countrywide membership of some 739,642.
Kevin Blue, Canada Soccer's president and general secretary, called the fee increase "one component of a much broader effort to increase revenue" for the governing body.
According to the organization's 2023 annual report, membership fees account for some 20 per cent of Canada Soccer's revenue. The report says the rest comes from commercial and other fees (46 per cent), FIFA and CONCACAF grants (22 per cent), government grants (11 per cent) and the 2026 FIFA World Cup (one per cent).
Crooks was elevated to president from vice-president in February 2023 when Nick Bontis resigned, acknowledging change was needed to achieve labour peace with the Canadian men’s and women’s national teams. Crooks then defeated former Canada Soccer vice-president Rob Newman in a presidential election in May 2023.
That labour peace has yet to be achieved.
The lack of funding for Canadian youth teams had been a bone of contention with the senior players, concerned about the future.
United States' Jaedyn Shaw, right, plays against Canada's Vanessa Gilles during a SheBelieves Cup women's soccer match Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Crooks, a five-time Olympian who earned silver in the 4×400 track relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, had been on the Canada Soccer board since 2012-13 and served as vice-president since January 2021.
The role of president is an unpaid position with Blue the top staff official.
New directors are Gayle Statton (B.C./Yukon), Terri Mattuci (Ontario), Terry Delblond (Quebec) and independent directors Brad Baker and Davide Xausa.
Statton has served as president of B.C. Soccer since November 2020. Mattucci is senior director of strategy and growth marketing for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
The 48-year-old Xausa is a former Canadian international who won 31 caps for Canada between 1999 and 2003. Baker is a member of the Squamish Nation from North Vancouver.
There are 14 members of the board, including the president and vice-president. Not all were up for re-election Saturday.
Kevin Colbow (B.C.), Natasha Irani, Paul Martin, Peter Raco and John Zerucelli (Ontario), Pierre Marchand and Martial Prud’homme (Quebec) and Filipe Dinis (independent) ran unsuccessfully for board positions.The meeting also saw the release of Canada Soccer's 2033 annual report. The organization's final audited 2023 financial figures are expected in the new few weeks.
Blue has already offered a look at what lies ahead, in a March 30 update that cited an expected $4 million operating deficit on total expenses of $30 million in the fiscal 2024 budget.
The Project 8 women’s league was officially granted membership at Canada Soccer’s 2023 annual meeting. The governing body has since confirmed six women's clubs can proceed with operations and preparations for launch in 2025.
Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax have already been identified as cities for Project 8 clubs, with information on the other clubs yet to be announced. Six is the minimum number for the league to kick off.
"We look forward to working together with Peter (Augruso) and Canada Soccer’s newly elected board as we work together to create a pathway for the long-term growth and prosperity of women's soccer in Canada," Diana Matheson, the former Canadian international who is CEO and co-founder of Project 8, said in a statement.
“Canada Soccer’s tireless support for our League underscores our shared commitment to fostering inclusivity, equity, and excellence in soccer for girls and women at all levels.”
Matheson made a presentation on Project 8 to the annual meeting.
The truck driver who caused the horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team has been ordered to be deported.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
A gunman who is accused of killing a young Ontario man and shooting four of his family members at their small Mississauga restaurant in 2021 was allegedly part of a trio who had pledged allegiance to the listed terrorist group Islamic State, a Crown attorney said in an opening statement in the Brampton murder trial this week.
A sexually transmitted infection (STI) that was once thought to be a thing of the past is now a public health priority for North American doctors.
A pair of Purolator transport truck drivers from Guelph, Ont. are being hailed as heroes for their efforts in helping a person in crisis.
Stopping short of offering the assurance U.S. senators are seeking, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is aware there's more work to do in order to see Canada meet NATO's defence spending target.
A toddler has died after being struck by a recycling truck in a Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon.
As avian flu spreads south of the border, Canadian officials are now testing samples of milk sold in grocery stores across the country.
When one is extended an invitation to the Royal Garden Party in London, England, there's undoubtedly no shortage of pomp and circumstance. Barrie, Ont. natives Megan Kirk Chang and her husband Brandon experienced just that as they entered the prestigious event hosted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.