Stephen Penney says he’ll be dressing his boys for hockey tryouts in the parking lot at the Duncan McIntosh Arena before watching them walk through the entrance alone now that he’s been barred from city sports facilities because of his vaccination status.
The Cambridge father and his wife are among a minority in Waterloo region who remain unvaccinated and as such are restricted from stepping foot inside arenas even though he believes the province’s rules provide room for an exemption.
The province introduced its vaccine certification program Wednesday, requiring proof of vaccination and identification to be shown on entry to certain “high risk” places like dine-in restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and sports facilities.
The City of Cambridge is following that provincial mandate and joined municipalities across the region in requiring all individuals to provide proof of full vaccination along with identification when entering city recreation facilities.
Children under 11 who can’t be vaccinated are exempt along with unvaccinated individuals over the age of 12 who need to access those places to use the washroom, buy merchandise, or to enter for health or safety purposes.
It’s that exemption that Penney believes applies to his case, allowing him or his wife inside arenas to ensure his children get on and off the ice safely.
“That’s my frustration; I believe the city is not exercising its discretion to interpret that health and safety exemption for the purposes of allowing parents to accompany their minor children,” Penney said.
“I can do all kinds of activities but I’m not allowed to accompany my minor children. Even with modified requirements to maintain safety I’m not permitted into the building at all.”
He's agreed to use a separate entrance, wearing a mask, and completing screening questions, but so far the city won't budge.
“I could foresee various requirements that would allow the city or the region, as the case may be, to comfortably exercise their discretion to allow parents in.”
The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For now, Penney’s boys, 8 and 10, can play hockey as much as they want in municipal arenas, just not under the observation of their parents.
If they make the rep teams with the Cambridge Minor Hockey Association they’ll be on the ice three or four times a week, Penney says, adding if something goes wrong or they need his help, he'll have to trust the coaches and other parents will be there for them.
Penney doesn’t want to get into why he and his wife have chosen not to get vaccinated.
The issue here, he says, is a failure at the municipal level to properly interpret a provincial mandate.
But it’s not only the region and the province he’s upset with.
Even if the city were to allow unvaccinated parents to enter arenas, the Ontario Minor Hockey Association says no way.
Under the city's rules, kids 18 and under who are actively participating in sports can enter recreation facilities without showing proof of vaccination.
The OMHA, however, went even further than provincial and regional requirements, recently doubling down on its decision to require proof of vaccination for all players over the age of 12, parents and coaches.
The OMHA reviewed its policy this week and says it will remain in place despite growing calls to change it.
“After carefully considering the evolving public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association has decided its vaccination policy will continue to apply for all eligible participants 12 and up,” reads a Wednesday news release on the organization’s website.
“We know that the environment around return to play is a real concern for a large proportion of hockey families,” said OMHA President Bob Hill. “We believe in this unprecedented time we are living during this global pandemic, our vaccination policy puts the health and safety of your children and our participants first and foremost.”
The OMHA says it will comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code and “provide an accommodation to any affected person who is unable to be vaccinated for substantial medical reasons or other grounds protected under the OHRC.”
The OMHA says it “faced many starts and stops to the season” last year as municipalities dealt with COVID-19. “That is something we all hope to avoid this season,” the organization said.
Although Penney is a lawyer, challenges to the restrictions and human rights code are not his area of practice.
He’s joined a group on the Telegram messenger app of about 400 concerned parents fighting the restrictions and says they’ve engaged legal counsel.
They’ve also sent a “demand letter” to the Ontario Hockey Federation asking that the OMHA be forced to accommodate unvaccinated parents who want to accompany and watch their children play hockey.
A larger group of parents and players has been organized on Facebook called Youth Sports Freedom Fighters. It has over 7,500 members to date.
Still, Penney admits it’s a “minority of a minority” within the OMHA. The organization oversees a participant base of 300,000 players, coaches, trainers, officials, hockey volunteers and parents across the province.
Penney also wonders what might happen when Health Canada announces approval for vaccines in children under 11.
The Federal Drug Administration in the US is currently reviewing Pfizer’s data showing a reduced dose of their vaccine is safe in children aged 5 to 11. Approval to administer the shots there is expected by year end if not sooner.
Penney suspects once Health Canada approves the shot here, restrictions could expand and more kids who don’t get the vaccine will be pushed out of the sports they love.
“I don’t know if the various governing hockey bodies or leagues would change their requirements,” he says.
If his kids’ hockey season is abruptly shortened because of it, Penney said he’d be angry but it wouldn’t be the thing to force him and his family to consider vaccination.
“We are involved in hockey for the health benefits, so we’re not making the decision to not get vaccinated lightly. It wouldn’t change our minds.”
