Cricket Canada has submitted what it says is a "comprehensive" plan of action as it seeks the swift reinstatement of its suspended ICC membership.
Earlier this week the ICC announced it had suspended Canada's associate membership for "serious breaches of its membership obligations," following on from the suspension of its funding to Cricket Canada. Cricket Canada told ESPNcricinfo the ICC had identified worries around governance structures, financial oversight and various executive and administrative processes during a routine compliance review.
The suspension is the culmination of a turbulent period for Canada off the field, which includes the appointment and subsequent removal of former CEO Salman Khan. Khan's appointment itself had attracted ICC attention, for failing to disclose prior criminal charges and he has been charged with theft and fraud by Calgary Police. Khan has denied the claims. In May, Arvinder Khosa was elected board president - after a brief interim stint - to head a newly elected nine-person board of directors.
Canada is also subject to an ongoing corruption investigation by the ICC's anti-corruption unit, stemming from its match against New Zealand at the T20 World Cup earlier this year. A separate corruption investigation centres on a leaked audio recording of a telephone call last year involving then Canada coach Khurram Chohan, in which he claims that senior (now former) board members put pressure on him to select certain players to the national side.
The new board is keen to distance itself from that period, however. "Most of the issues pre-date the newly elected board," Bhavjit Jauhar, the board's chief operating officer, told ESPNcricinfo in a statement. "The majority of the governance and financial control concerns raised by the ICC relate to historical practices and decisions made prior to the April/May elections.
"The new board has inherited these legacy issues and is now responsible for implementing corrective and preventive reforms. The ICC has been informed that the new board is committed to full compliance and has already begun implementing structural and governance reforms."
As part of its first steps, Cricket Canada says it has already submitted a detailed plan - a corrective and preventative action plan - to the ICC which includes an analysis of its governance and financial missteps, as well as a series of short and long-term measures to bring them back to ICC compliance.
Cricket Canada has also set up an independent committee, led by the lawyer Dasha Peregoudova, which will investigate the issues the ICC has raised and make interim recommendations within a fortnight and a full report on the board's troubles within 45 days. Cricket Canada says the committee has "unrestricted access to financial records, personnel, and documentation."
Cricket Canada is expected to now work with the ICC's normalisation committee, which includes the Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird and the ICC deputy chair Imran Khwaja among its members, in an effort to reinstate membership.
Jauhar said the suspension was "unexpected", given the independent committee had already begun its work, but said Cricket Canada "respects the ICC's decision and is fully committed to meeting all compliance requirements. The Board has directed the Committee to accelerate its investigative and reform mandate to ensure that governance, financial oversight, and reporting systems are strengthened without delay."