HUGE DEFICIT CALLS FOR HUGE OPPORTUNITIES

By Pierre Filion pierrefilion@bell.net

Brace yourselves, this is going to hurt!

For the second year in a row Lacrosse Canada will declare a deficit; last year (year ended June 30^th 2024) Lacrosse Canada declared a deficit of 194,749$; this year (year ended June 30^th 2025) Lacrosse Canada has bent over backward to improve on its deficit; the deficit will be 850,155$.

Usually, associations present their audited statements at their annual meeting; this year Lacrosse Canada was not in a position to produce its audited statement at the annual meeting of September 26^th and 27^th; it needed more time (!) and the 2025 audits were circulated in November, five months after the end of the fiscal year.

The auditors’ opinion clearly mentions that their report represents ‘’fairly the financial position of Lacrosse Canada as of June 30^th 2025.’’ The reality is that the deficit (850,155$) is real. Lacrosse Canada will hold a meeting of members, on or around December 10^th , to share the ‘’real’’ financial situation with the members. For the first time, five months after the end of the fiscal year the members will be informed and learn the ‘’real’’ deficit. They will also learn that the deficit is theirs and that they have to deal with it.

LACROSSE CANADA HAS NO RESPECT FOR ITS OWN BUDGET

At its 2023 annual meeting (November 17^th to 19^th) Lacrosse Canada shared with the provinces their 2024-25 budget; there were two versions of the proposed budget; a bare bones conservative balanced budget of 1,244,914$; the second option of 1,510,039$ was also a balanced budget expressing the need not to cut monies from the high-performance program.

When both budgets are compared with the final audited statement one comes to the obvious conclusion that Lacrosse Canada has no respect for its own budget. Lacrosse Canada has overspent on every item in the budgets. The budgets (conservative and very conservative) are just numbers jotted down on paper and serve in no way as a guideline or a reference point to be aware of. Lacrosse Canada ignores them and simply overspends, thus creating a deficit of 850,155$.

There is one exception that needs to be brought forward. Lacrosse Canada did not overspend in Domestic Development. It simply did not spend any money at all towards domestic development. Yet the budgets called for an investment of 2500$. In order not to increase the deficit Lacrosse Canada elected not to spend anything! What a wise move!

Someone writes an expense claim; someone writes a cheque and someone else audits the expenses; and we collectively look at a deficit; the largest in Lacrosse Canada’s financial history. Amateur behavior where no one is really responsible for the budget; we just carry on and, oh surprise, we end up with a deficit of 850,155$ on a budget of 1,510,039$.

One question begs to be asked; who is in charge of the budget and of the finances?

YES, THERE CAN STILL BE OPPORTUNITIES HERE

Some members will bitch and scream; some will cynically smile and say ‘’We told you so; there are too many red flags’’; some will call for Sport Canada to have a closer look at their amateur national sport. Some will ask pointed questions suggesting that there might even be fraud here or there; some might suggest that the audited statement be circulated on page 1 of the Association’s website…

This is an important deficit which must be used to raise awareness that things simply don’t happen by the luck of the draw or by bad luck. People are responsible for the deficit and they need to step forward if only for the members to know who they are.

Sean Williams is LC’s past president; his mandate ended in September 2025; the 2024-25 deficit happened under his watch. It would be enlightening is he stood up to explain how the deficit happened and how he tried to control it. Silence and withdrawal will not be acceptable from the man who was the Association’s president and its moral authority.

Matt Shearer is Lacrosse Canada’s new president; clearly, he must stand up and tell the members (and the paying members) that such a financial disaster will not happen again; he would be expected to share with the members the measures that he will put forward in order not to repeat again the same mistakes.

Terry Rayner is Lacrosse Canada’s Executive Director, the man who runs the operations and manages the Office. Where was he? Did he know the Association was looking at such a huge deficit? Did he even care? How will he convince the members that he is really in charge and knows what he is doing?

The provincial presidents and the paying members could use this historical deficit as the perfect example of what happens when things are withdrawn from the members’ attention and when information remains in a vacuum for so few to see and appreciate.

In itself an important deficit is a red flag. It will be interesting to see who will waive the reg flag and how long it will take for the media to have a closer look at Canada’s national summer sport.