Councillor says fix needed for vaccination check policy at Winnipeg arenas
You could walk into of a City of Winnipeg arena without anyone asking for your vaccination status.
Unlike private arenas that staff their facilities, the city is not staffing anyone at the door of its arenas.
Instead, the city is mandating users groups like hockey teams and ultimately, minor hockey associations to have representatives at each booking to ensure people show proof of vaccination.
The city said it will be auditing all arena permit-holders to make sure this is happening.
“If the audit is not successful or non-compliance occurs, permits may not be granted or continued access to arenas suspended temporarily or permanently. Fines may also be issued,” the city told CTV News Winnipeg.
St. Boniface Minor Hockey Association President Shaun Chornley said this is a lot to ask of volunteers, who are scarce, and of minor hockey groups.
“Now we’re putting more stress upon our volunteer parent groups and basically asking them to be agents for the city and if they do make error, there’s consequence.” Chornley said.
It appears the councillor who chairs the city’s community services committee agrees.
Sherri Rollins said the city checks vaccination status at pools and gyms, and says arenas are no different.
“I think it’s an oversight. It’s a problem, and I think we should fix it,” Rollins said.
But a fix would require funding to pay for staff at the door. Rollins said there may be money leftover for 2021 from when arenas were closed during lockdowns, and she’s already eyeing 2022.
“In the budget 2022, you can bet your bottom dollar I am talking about this as a priority,” she said.
Chornley said parents would be willing to fork over a bit extra to have peace of mind that a trained worker is at the door.
“Really what I’d really like to see as an association and as a board is that the city revisits this,” he said.
Rollins says she anticipates there will be a solution very soon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.