VERITAS: TOUCHDOWN - GIRLS’ HOCKEY LEAGUE PUTS DISCRIMINATION ON ICE

Full disclosure: I am a member of the Leaside Girls Hockey Association (LGHA). I play on the Red Team, in the Beaches Bubble at Ted Reeve Arena. I have Ron Baker to thank for that. Baker is the President of the LGHA and a longtime supporter of female hockey in Toronto. He is also ‘David’ in this week’s David and Goliath showdown between the Association and the City of Toronto. Baker came out swinging mid-week, threatening to launch a human rights complaint against the city over ice time distribution, which he claims is skewed in favour of men’s leagues. He backed up his threat with a letter to parents and an online petition, which circulated quickly throughout girls’ and women’s hockey leagues across the city. Pointing to the city’s “ice equality” policy and armed with growth statistics and hard numbers that show the price the league has paid to play at private arenas after being shut out of city-owned spaces, Baker made a compelling case. The story caught the attention of dozens upon dozens of media outlets right across the country and generated an immediate and firm response from Mayor David Miller. The Mayor called the lack of action in equity compliance at city arenas unacceptable and vowed to back Baker’s fight. "The result is discrimination," Miller said. The final score remains to be seen, but we’re calling Baker’s strong and effective first period communications play a clear-cut goal…er…touchdown.