Michael Hassell (416) 944-2274 ext. 100

mhassell@trialcounsel.ca

May 15, 2015 Sent by Email Toronto City Council City Hall 100 Queen Street West Toronto, Ontario M5H 2N2 Dear Mayor Tory and Members of Council, Re: Hockey is in Our Constitution Please find enclosed a photograph I took of a sign that reads:

Ball and Hockey Playing Prohibited By-law 522-78

I suggest this sign has no place in our great City because:

1. It is unCanadian;

2. It is unhealthy; and

3. It is negative and unnecessary. Additionally, the underlying law and the signs may not be legal. I enclose a list of potential legal issues.

With Canada Day and the Pan Am / Parapan Am Games around the corner, I suggest some spring cleaning: ideally to get rid of the law and signs, but at minimum to remove the signs. Safety is important and I am confident that Torontonians can play safe without the law and signs.

 

Toronto has 5,600 kilometers of roadways. Assuming you can have a good game of road hockey on 1% of roads, that’s 56 kilometers of space, or approximately 1,120 occasional road hockey rinks already built. Wouldn’t it be great if we could come up with a way to put this infrastructure to good use for sports? Have a happy Victoria Day long weekend / May two fer! Respectfully yours, HASSELL TRIAL COUNSEL Michael Hassell MH/ Encl.: Photograph of sign referencing by-law 522-78 List of potential legal issues CC: City Solicitor, Anna Kinastowski

 

 

Potential Legal Issues with Toronto’s Ball and Hockey Playing Prohibited

Law and Signs Background By-Law 522-78 was enacted in 1978 and has since been replaced by chapter 950 of the Toronto Municipal Code. By-Law 522-78 (section 12):

No person shall play or take part in any game or sport upon a roadway and, where there are sidewalks, no person upon roller-skates, or riding in or by means of any coaster, toy vehicle or similar device, shall go upon a roadway except for the purpose of crossing the roadway, and, when so crossing, such person shall have the rights and be subject to the obligations of a pedestrian.

Chapter 950 of the Toronto Municipal Code (§ 950-300 D):

No person shall play or take part in any game or sport upon a roadway and, where there are sidewalks, no person upon roller-skates, in-line skates or a skateboard, or riding in or by means of any coaster, scooter, toy vehicle, toboggan, sleigh or similar device, shall go upon a roadway except for the purpose of crossing the road, and, when so crossing, such person shall have the rights and be subject to the obligations of a pedestrian.

Chapter 950 adds the outlawing of in-line skates, scooters, toboggans and sleighs on roadways. The National Sports of Canada Act (section 2):

The game commonly known as ice hockey is hereby recognized and declared to be the national winter sport of Canada and the game commonly known as lacrosse is hereby recognized and declared to be the national summer sport of Canada.

Our country has recognised hockey and lacrosse as our national sports. Constitutional Is there a Charter right to play pursuant to section 7 of the Charter regarding life, liberty and security of the person?

 

Play improves health and health is an important aspect of security of the person. Health care costs are one of government’s biggest expenditures. Why not use roads to promote healthy, active lifestyles and reduce health care costs? The constitutional argument is a long shot as the Supreme Court of Canada tends not to recognise positive rights. For example, there has been no recognition of a right to health care in Canada. An interesting twist is that if health care were outlawed, that law would be unconstitutional. Is there a parallel argument that banning games and sports is unconstitutional? The fallback is probably that Toronto’s law is about safety; games and sports are only banned on roadways not altogether. Is Toronto’s law discriminatory to minors pursuant to the equality rights of section 15 of the Charter since outlawing games and sports on roadways impacts minors the most and gives adults greater rights to the road as drivers of vehicles? The impact is certainly discriminatory, but it all likely comes back to safety and minors requiring additional safety protections. However, there is a safe way to play in the street, this has been proven for as long as there have been roads and games. Uncertainty Toronto’s laws must be certain so they can be understood and complied with or else they can be challenged and voided for vagueness. While Toronto’s law outlawing games and sports on roadways has a fair degree of clarity, there is always some grey area. More uncertain than the law is the sign: “Ball and Hockey Playing Prohibited”. This is much more narrow than the words “game or sport” in Toronto’s law and there is no reference to the roadway, as in a hypothetical sign alternative: “Games and Sport upon the Roadway Prohibited”. Technical The signs reference By-Law 522-78, but that by-law has been replaced by chapter 950 of the Municipal Code. There may be a technical argument that the signs are not proper for referring to the wrong law and should be removed.