This site is designed to listen. We want to help make the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) a safe, fair, and better league for future players and families. Please share your story to help with investigations that can reform the GTHL. 

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The GTHL is a self governing organization. The leadership has strayed far from their stated mission, vision and values. They have centralized too much power which always leads to corruption - abuse of power, abuse of process, greed, and self protection. They have created a bubble of bureaucracy around themselves to allow them to operate as dictators. This is not the way a youth sports league should be permitted to operate. The associations (teams) in the league are not the problem. They work with players and volunteers, they have empathy and care for them. But they lack control over their own league. The GTHL needs reform that will lead to less corruption, shared power, fair treatment for all involved, and a better environment for players and families. 

 

The Story that started this movement:

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"[this is] a penalty that the parents and players had no responsibility for and no way to fix themselves. However, it is a difficult lesson that they must pay the price for”

 

— GTHL Report from the Appeal Committee, Appeal #2564, January 16, 2025

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In December of 2024, the GTHL issued a ruling against the Mississauga Rattlers U16 AA due to a clerical mistake in registering an at-large trainer with the organization. 

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The Rattlers team submitted the trainer’s name and credentials at the beginning of the 24/25 season. This was his 6th year as a trainer and provided all his paper work to the organization to have him registered with the GTHL as an additional bench staff above the 5 team roster spots. Due to a misunderstanding about the new trainer-at-large policy, the registrar did not get it completed. 

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​The GTHL’s initial decision was to suspend the coach for 6 games, and register a one game loss rather than a win which ruined their undefeated season. All this with NO investigation. Rules state that if it was the result of an "understandable mistake" the decision could be reversed. 

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Upon appealing the decision  (based on proof the team was innocent and it was an "understandable mistake"), the GTHL ignored the team’s plea and increased the penalty from 1 loss to 14 based on which games the trainer was present. This vindictive verdict destroys their season causing unneeded mental and emotional harm to these kids.

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The other organizations in the GTHL West  signed a petition in favour of the Rattlers but the GTHL would not listen to their own associations. 

 

The team appealed the decision to the OHF. In this appeal the GTHL abused process again and was permitted to change the rule, 9.13, they had relied on to a different rule in the middle of the hearing. The players and families were left unprotect for a third time. The GTHL was permitted to make many mistakes with no accountability, but the teams, volunteers, and players are given no protection. Players are seen as a source of money by the GTHL, and in fact, they used that very money from the families to pay for lawyers to unjustly punish the kids.