Case of Toronto coach sanctioned for misconduct highlights Hockey Canada secrecy over discipline

The case of a women’s hockey coach in Toronto who breached Hockey Canada’s code of conduct multiple times but is still coaching is again raising questions about why a number of national sport federations in Canada are keeping sanctions for misconduct secret from the public.

The latest Hockey Canada discipline matter to become public involves Mat Weidenfelder, a 35-year-old Scarborough, Ont., native who played professional hockey in Kazakhstan before he began a coaching career.

Weidenfelder coached during the 2021-22 season with the North York Junior Storm U22 elite team, which featured players between the ages of 16 and 18 and played in the Ontario Women’s Junior League U22 Elite, a development league for the NCAA, Professional Women’s Hockey League, and Canadian university hockey programs.

Weidenfelder declined to comment on the misconduct complaints made against him.

“I have no comment on matters under seal,” he wrote in a direct message on LinkedIn. None of the records provided to TSN are subject to a sealing order by a court.

According to records of his case, a number of complaints were filed with Hockey Canada throughout 2022 that included 50 separate allegations about Weidenfelder’s behaviour. After he began the 2022-23 season as North York’s head coach, Weidenfelder was suspended by Hockey Canada on Nov. 28, 2022, pending the results of an investigation by Sportsafe Investigations Group, a company hired by the federation.

When that investigation was completed some seven months later, many of the allegations against Weidenfelder were substantiated, according to Hockey Canada records and an investigation report obtained by TSN.

Andrea Lowes, a Sportsafe investigator, wrote in an 83-page report on Apr. 4, 2023, that she interviewed witnesses and reviewed audio recordings and written records and had substantiated a number of the allegations against Weidenfelder, who is a teacher in Toronto at Willowdale Middle School.

The allegations included that Weidenfelder told his female players he would enter their dressing room so long as they all were wearing at least sport bras, even if that made some of them uncomfortable, that he told players in early October 2022 that he wouldn’t speak with their parents because they were “whiny f--king pricks,” and that he suggested to players that one of their teammates had left a practice early probably because she was going to engage in a sexual act with her boyfriend.

The coach is also alleged to have used an “Indian accent” when calling the name of a player of South Asian descent, commented that a player was “hot,” and described another player as being of low intelligence.

Lowes wrote that at a fundraising golf tournament on Aug. 26, 2022, Weidenfelder tried to “photobomb” a picture being taken of a player and her father by pulling down his pants and “showing his butt.”

"It would behoove the head coach of a team not to "show his butt" in the presence of players and player parents," the investigator wrote. "This conduct is objectively disrespectful and offensive."

Two weeks later, on Sept. 8, 2022, Weidenfelder implied that a player was lying about being injured when he talked to her about participating in a practice, Lowes wrote.

“I find, based on the consensus in the evidence provided by [name redacted] and the audio recordings, that Mat regularly uses profanity when interacting with players,” Lowes wrote. “I also find, based on the evidence provided by [name redacted] and the audio recordings, that Mat berated the team.”

While the complainants in Weidenfelder’s case sought a lifetime ban for him, Toronto lawyer William Boyer, one of Hockey Canada’s adjudicators, wrote in a confidential Aug. 2, 2023, report that Weidenfelder could return to hockey as an assistant coach after completing a respect in sport course. Following one season, Weidenfelder would also be eligible to pursue a return to head coaching duties.

“While [Weidenfelder’s] conduct was inappropriate in many instances, such conduct was not so egregious to warrant permanent ineligibility,” Boyer wrote. “Rather, [Weidenfelder] ought to be re-integrated into Hockey Canada activities under certain conditions.”

Even though Boyer had the power to make his decision and the findings against Weidenfelder public, Boyer defended his decision not to do so. He wrote in a Sept. 26 email to TSN that complainants may have concerns with the idea of sharing decisions broadly.

"Those considerations must be taken into account to ensure that the objectives of the policy are met and that parties coming forward with concerns feel safe doing so and are not revictimized," Boyer wrote, adding that making decisions public could also have a chilling effect on future complainants coming forward.

To be sure, a modest but growing number of national and provincial sport organizations are making sanctions for misconduct public. Athletics Canada, Swim Canada, and Skate Canada all maintain public registries. Basketball Canada and Canada Soccer have said they are in the process of setting up registries.

Even so, the majority of Canada's 58 national sport organizations and 500-plus provincial sport organizations still keep sanctions secret.

“The lack of a registry doesn't align with best practices of organizations in 2024,” said Richard Leblanc, a professor of governance, law and ethics at York University in Toronto. "Records of discipline should be public, the same way they are for lawyers and doctors. Parents shouldn't be the last to know about a coach's discipline history. They are making a huge leap of faith that sports organizations are being transparent with them."

On Sept. 19, Weidenfelder was announced as an assistant coach on the U22 Leaside Junior Wildcats, another team in the Ontario Women’s Hockey League.

Andrew Dillane, president of the Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association (TLGHA), wrote in a Sept. 22 email to TSN that the organization was unaware of Weidenfelder’s sanction and that the team would seek guidance from the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association.

“All TLGHA volunteers and paid coaches meet the screening requirements of our governing bodies, the [Ontario Hockey Federation] and [Ontario Women’s Hockey Association],” Dillane wrote.

“We diligently enforce this policy prior to every season. In this instance, Mr. Weidenfelder's vulnerable sector check criminal background check was cleared, and the OWHA approved the roster. TLGHA has followed up with the OWHA for guidance on how to proceed.”

OWHA president Fran Rider wrote in a Sept. 24 email to TSN that the league was aware Hockey Canada’s independent third party (ITP) was investigating Weidenfelder.

“When this occurs, OWHA is required to step aside and is bound by the results of the ITP investigation and is also required to maintain confidentiality,” Rider wrote. “OWHA was recently advised that a decision had been rendered and that now the individual is permitted to coach.”

Rider did not respond to subsequent questions about whether the OWHA and Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association had an obligation to inform the players or the parents of players about allegations against Weidenfelder that were substantiated.

Hockey Canada has said for months that it is “studying and evaluating” the possibility of making sanctions public. Several sources close to the federation’s board said that while there is mounting pressure as other sports organizations are adopting public registries, Hockey Canada’s lawyers are concerned the organization could face lawsuits from people who are named publicly for bad behaviour.

"It's unacceptable," Leblanc said. "Sanctions should be a matter of public record. Lawyers will always talk about the possibility of liability. But think about the greater risk of not having a registry. What if a coach harms a child and an organization knew about the coach's past history, and they kept information about that from a parent? That becomes a legal risk as well."

Hockey Canada spokesman Jeremy Knight wrote in a Sept. 26 email to TSN that the federation would appreciate guidance from the federal government regarding the creation of a public registry across amateur sports at all levels in Canada.

Knight wrote that since Hockey Canada’s independent third-party program was established in October 2022, adjudicators like Boyer have had the authority in every case involving discipline for bad behaviour to make the sanction public. That has not happened in any case.

In a statement sent to TSN on Friday, federal sport minister Carla Qualtrough wrote that sports participants, organizations, and parents need to be able to make informed decisions.

“Many sport organizations currently publish notices informing the public of individuals sanctioned by their organization,” she wrote. “I commend their initiative and expect all sport organizations to do the same.”