Hundreds protest arena vaccine mandate
Road hockey event held to protest cancellation of organized sports for kids
Hundreds of unmasked people protested against the vaccination mandates at sporting arenas via a kids’ road hockey event on Wednesday near the Scotiabank Arena.
The event, called Shinny Night in Canada organized by Game On, was held in opposition to restrictions throughout the pandemic that did not allow children to play organized sports.
Game On was founded by Dermot Pomeroy, a father of three, who said on the website that he saw his children’s mental health deteriorate due to the cancellation of organized sports for children during the pandemic.
“My main focus was for the kids to have fun, but in the back of my mind I was hoping that parents would come out and start talking to each other from my neighbourhood and open up lines of communication,” said Pomeroy on the Game On website.
The event was held the same night as the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens game. The protest games organized by the group had more than 140 children aged five to 17 registered to play as of Oct. 6.
The Leafs game is the first to be played with the crowd at nearly full capacity after restrictions were lifted in Ontario on Sunday. Proof of vaccination is required for entry, according to provincial regulations.
The event, despite being a community effort, is said to have cost over $20,000, according to their website.
In a Facebook live video posted by user Jim Kerr, the event featured children and teens playing road hockey in multiple, simultaneous games. Many, if not all, of the attendees and players are unmasked and not physically distancing.
In the post, Maxime Bernier, the leader of the federal People’s Party of Canada, and independent MPP Randy Hillier were shown to be in attendance.
The live video also shows a booth with PPC signs and attendees holding signs in protest of pandemic measures.
Children within the game area were seen holding signs saying “my body, my choice.”
Bernier and Hillier have both been proponents of anti-vaccination rhetoric, with Bernier having it as a main part of his campaign during the September 2021 federal election.
In September 2021, Bernier spoke at a rally in Mississauga calling for “freedom” and a “vow” against vaccine passports.
As previously reported by the Star, both Bernier and Hillier were charged with breaching the stay-at-home order when they attended an anti-lockdown protest in April 2021.