Thunder Bay – POLITICS – A decision to defer making a decision on hockey nets on outdoor hockey rinks in Thunder Bay was the end result after several days of political posturing by Mayor Bill Mauro and other members of Council.
The decision to defer the decision, with no date set to have to make a decision came after two hours of discussion by Councillors.
It was a 9-3 decision to defer.
The whole “Netgate” issue started following an announcement by City Administration that hockey nets would be removed from city operated outdoor rinks.
Mauro Mauro Tweeted out that the decision had not been made by Council and promised to bring a resolution forward Monday to reverse the decision.
NetNewsLedger asked the Mayor about this, by email but have not received a response.
Our question was “If Administration and the health unit made the decision and there was never a motion to pass that… why would it take a motion to put the nets back?”
At issue perhaps are two things, such a decision should have been part of the discussion at the Municipal Emergency Management Group, but we can’t get confirmation on that.
It gets confusing for the public because under the stay-at-home order exercise is alright. People are in many cases seeing double standards and that puts decisions made by the health units and all three levels of government end up called into question or even ridicule.
On hockey nets, simply put, it almost seems Administration and Council have forgotten that kids playing hockey don’t need a net. Lumps of ice or snow can serve as a net.
While Road Hockey isn’t as common or popular as it once was, going back, personally I remember using the chucks of ice from behind the wheel well of cars as goal posts. Going even further back, I remember stories from my dad where in Winnipeg, kids used the manure from horses as not only pucks but as goal posts. In the 1940s and into the 1950s in Winnipeg the home deliveries from the Eaton’s in downtown was done by horse drawn wagon. I digress.
One can get the concept that social gathering numbers are a factor in the spread of COVID-19. However one of the issues not forthcoming like it could from the politicians is to share the science behind the decisions being made that impact our lives.
Simply being told “We are all in this together” fell apart when reports of political and healthcare leaders flying south for holiday vacations started dominating the news cycle in early January.
Trusting the people with the facts and the science will build public support and increase the willingness of people to follow the public health guidelines.
In Thunder Bay’s “Netgate” not a lot of that has happened, and the result is another step in the wrong direction that will likely see members of the public lose faith in the decisions we are being told to follow.
That of course is my opinion, as always, your mileage may vary.
James Murray
