An appearance by Hockey Canada’s interim chair before a government committee was not enough to assuage the concerns of sponsors, several of which have pulled their support for the upcoming hockey season.

The most significant statement came on Thursday, when Canadian Tire said it was ending its business relationship with the organization.

“In our view, Hockey Canada continues to resist meaningful change and we can no longer confidently move forward together,” a statement from the company read.  “[Canadian Tire Corporation] is proud of our commitment to sport and will continue to invest in our beloved national game by re-directing support to hockey-related organizations that better align with our values.”

One of those organizations is The Respect Group, a non-profit that provides training to prevent bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination.

Canadian Tire’s move to permanently end its Hockey Canada sponsorship came after several other sponsors re-committed to “pausing” or temporarily pulling their sponsorship support for the upcoming season.

On Wednesday, Tim Hortons issued a statement saying it would not support any of Hockey Canada’s men’s programming for the 2022-23 season, including the World Junior Hockey Championships in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

That was followed by Scotiabank, which said in a statement that its “sponsorship pause of Hockey Canada remains in effect.” The bank was the first sponsor to pull its support from Hockey Canada in June, publishing an open letter saying that would not change until the organization showed a commitment to changing the culture of the sport.

“In our open letter in June, we publicly called on Hockey Canada to hold the game to a higher standard and we are disappointed with the lack of progress to date,” the statement read. “From Hockey Canada, we expect a tangible commitment to transparency with Canadians, strong leadership, accountability with their stakeholders and the hockey community, and improved safety both on and off the ice. Ultimately, our position hasn’t wavered: the time for change is long overdue.”

Telus is also pulling its support, saying in a statement Thursday morning it was “disheartened by the lack of action and commitment from Hockey Canada to drive necessary cultural change.” Chevrolet also said it would not support Hockey Canada this season, reiterating a previous statement that parent company General Motors has “no tolerance for abuse of any kind and wish to see Hockey Canada return to setting a positive example for all Canadians in all it does.”

Tim Hortons, Scotiabank and Telus specified, as they had in June, that they were pulling support for men’s programs, and activities related to women’s and youth hockey would remain in place. The sponsors have not disclosed the monetary value of their Hockey Canada sponsorships, or how much they spend on related activities.

MiC has also reached out to other Hockey Canada sponsors regarding the status of their sponsorship.

Hockey Canada has been embroiled in controversy since May, when it was revealed that the organization had settled a lawsuit from a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by eight players at a charity event in 2018, including members of that year’s national World Junior team. This brought up questions about the culture within the organization, as well as whether government funding or player registration fees had been used to settle the lawsuit. In July, it was revealed that the organization maintained a reserve fund for settling liabilities, including sexual assault, financed by player registration fees.

On Tuesday, Hockey Canada’s interim chair Andrea Skinner appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. In her answers to MPs, Skinner – who took on her role following the resignation of Michael Brind’amour – said there was no plans to change Hockey Canada’s leadership, that the organization has an “excellent reputation” and rejected what she called as the “scapegoating” of hockey as a source for toxic culture.

Members of the committee expressed their frustration with the interim chair during the hearing. Liberal MP Hedy Fry said at its conclusion that, based on responses from Skinner and earlier testimony from Brind’amour, that the organization was showing a lack of accountability or willingness to commit to change. Conservative MP John Nater, citing the fact that Hockey Canada had hired crisis communications firm Navigator, said the organization was treating the situation as a PR scandal, rather than an issue that required organizational change.

On Monday, the day before Skinner answered questions from MPs, The Globe and Mail reported that Hockey Canada had a second reserve fund, established in 1999, to handle sexual assault claims and other liabilities. Hockey Canada had not disclosed the existence of this fund to the government during questioning in the summer. A spokesperson for the organization told the Globe that the second fund had never been used.

Outside of sponsor support, provincial organizations Hockey Quebec and the Ontario Hockey Federation said this week that they would be withholding part of the funding they otherwise send to the national organization.