Game off? Hamilton City By-Law bans outdoor hockey rinks at public parks

Growing up, it was normal to go down to your local park and for there to be a man made hockey rink constructed by neighbourhood volunteers. A current By-law in Hamilton bans all outdoor skating rinks built by volunteers in your local parks.

Councillors blame society, which sues from everything from tripping or slipping on a city sidewalk that wasn’t shovelled. But can we really blame them? People nowadays are suing for the most ridiculous circumstances, and it seems that children or anyone seriously injured at one of these outdoor rinks is just something that the City wants no part of.  The mixing of recreational skating and hockey is another obstacle that needs to be addressed.  The city polices park rinks on a complaint basis, said Vince Ormond, manager of municipal law enforcement.“We have never been asked to enforce” the no-hockey bylaw, he said.

The City Department in Montreal builds their own skating/hockey rinks, complete with full regulation nets and boards.  There is a way to cover the issue legally and financially. In Montreal, to better meet families' needs for outdoor activities and offer them the best possible conditions for indulging in winter sports, the City creates two real sliding sport complexes at Raymond and Lefebvre parks. Each park has a large skating rink with boards and markings for hockey and a trail for public skating and crews maintain them as best as possible. Montreal has the right idea on how to balance out skating and hockey. Councillor Pasuta and Whitehead state that our “society has become more litigious” in a recent article in The Spec, but Montreal has found a way to control the situation, both legally and financially.   In Hamilton we have “bocce” clubs built by tax dollars. It seems a bit ridiculous that we can build private “bocce” courts with bathrooms, kitchens and fences around them, but building something that is truly Canadian hasn't been explored.  It's a matter of time before the City gets more involved in public outdoor skate rinks for both hockey and recreational skating.

Game ooooon!!!!!  (Witty Wayne’s World reference)