‘Quintessential image of Canada’ banned in Toronto, but encouraged in Calgary
TORONTO — An Ontario provincial cabinet minister is calling on the country’s most-populous city to reverse its ban on a classic Canadian pastime.
Street hockey is welcomed in other major cities like Calgary, but is banned by Toronto’s city bylaws for safety reasons. And as the city council is gearing up to vote on whether to uphold the ban, Ontario’s new minister of children and youth services sent an open letter to councillors Monday, asking that they vote to strike it down.
While Michael Coteau doesn’t have jurisdiction over the ban — street usage is governed by municipal bylaws rather than provincial legislation — he wrote that he hoped Toronto would set an example for other jurisdictions that prohibit street hockey.
“The health benefits of physical activity (like street hockey) are well-known and obvious,” Coteau wrote, adding that social skills, compromise and teamwork can also be learned through sport.