A city councillor is calling for changes to Toronto bar and restaurant hours so spectators can cheer – and possibly toast – Team Canada during Olympic hockey medal games in Sochi.
A nine-hour time difference between Toronto and the Russian city means that when hockey teams duke it out in the gold-medal games, it will be the breakfast-hour in much of Eastern Canada, including Toronto.
Hours of sale and service of alcohol in Ontario start at 11 a.m., but Coun. Mike Layton wants bars and restaurants to begin serving alcohol at 6 a.m. for the final four days of the Sochi Games. That way, he said, fans could watch the men’s and women’s bronze and gold medal hockey games with a pint or two.
“It’s about community, it’s about us sharing in the glory of the Olympic games with our men’s and women’s hockey teams,” Layton told CTV Toronto.
If council approves, bars could start serving alcohol in time for the 7 a.m. eastern puck-drop.
“I certainly don’t expect that people will rush out at six in the morning and get a couple pints, but maybe during the third period, when it’s 10:30 or something, and folks want to have a beer to celebrate a victory, then that would be appropriate,” Layton said.
Layton said he would still expect people to consume alcohol responsibly.
Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly said he supports Layton’s call.
“You’re either investing in the hockey supremacy of Canada, or you’re not,” Kelly said.
Ontario bar hours have been altered in the past for sporting events taking place in different time zones, including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Layton’s motion is expected to be debated at council next week.
