Mississauga, Ont. upholds ban on street sports, including hockey and basketball
Mississauga city council has voted to keep its residential street sports ban in place, meaning hockey and basketball on the road will remain out of bounds.
The Nov. 6 vote came more than a year-and-a-half after Ward 2 Coun. Alvin Tedjo brought forward a motion aimed at amending the bylaws, noting that some residents have “weaponized” the existing rules to prevent kids from playing on their streets.
Mississauga has observed the ban since 1979. It was amended in 2010 to also include the prohibition of sporting equipment, like hockey and basketball nets, on the roadway.
Tedjo’s motion tasked city staff to produce a report that reviewed the existing bylaws, the findings of which were laid out in a document published Oct. 22. In it, staff recommended “deregulating” sports on the city streets, meaning the activity would be neither prohibited nor permitted. Enforcement officers would continue to respond to complaints about road obstructions or noise, the report read.
The report looked at the rules in 12 comparable jurisdictions to inform their recommendation. Those include Toronto, Ottawa, and Kitchener, where sports are permitted on roadways under certain conditions.
The report also looked at cities which neither prohibit nor permit road sports, including London, Oshawa, Vaughan, and Kingston, the last of which only recently amended their bylaw in 2022 following 14 years of allowing street hockey and basketball.
Brampton, Burlington, Hamilton, Markham, Oakville currently prohibit sports on roadways.
The report also found that complaints about road sports in Mississauga are quite rare, accounting for less than one per cent of the more than 18,500 complaints received by the city last year.
Speaking at council before the Nov. 6 vote, Georgios Fthenos, Mississauga’s director or enforcement, said the city has never laid a charge in connection with the ban in over 50 years, leading Mayor Carolyn Parish to ask of the existing bylaws: “If it’s not broken, why are we fixing it?”
As well, Parish and other councillors who voted against the recommendation to ditch the ban voiced concerns over the city being vulnerable to liability in its absence.
“I know, cause we’ve gone into it in detail, that we’re liable. It’s not so much the cost, it’s the loss of a life. So, if I could refer this back to staff and you come back with something that’s airtight, I would consider it,” Parish said before voting against it.
“I don’t want to hear about this again. I just want it to go away.”
CTV News Toronto has reached out to Tedjo for comment, but has not received a response.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates Car security investigation: How W5 'stole' a car using a device we ordered online
In part two of a three-part series into how thieves are able to drive off with modern vehicles so easily, CTV W5 correspondent Jon Woodward uses a device flagged by police to easily clone a car key.
South African government says it won't help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine
South Africa's government says it will not help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.
'The Woodstock of our generation': Taylor Swift photographer credits email to her connection with the superstar
Taylor Swift has millions of fans worldwide, but Brampton, Ont.'s Jasmeet Sidhu has gotten closer to the musical icon than most.
opinion Why the new U.S. administration won't have much time for us
In a column for CTVNews.ca, former Conservative Party political advisor and strategist Rudy Husny says that when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes to the G-20 summit next week, it will look more like his goodbye tour.
More than $400 million pledged by nine foundations to help solve climate change in Canada
A group of families and foundations from across Canada have pledged more than $400 million over the next decade to help solve climate change.
A look at how much mail Canada Post delivers, amid a strike notice
Amid a potential postal worker strike, here’s a look at how many letters and parcels the corporation delivers and how those numbers have changed in the internet age.
What makes walking so great for your health and what else you need to do
Medical experts agree that walking is an easy way to improve physical and mental health, bolster fitness and prevent disease. While it’s not the only sort of exercise people should do, it’s a great first step toward a healthy life.
India's 'most wanted terrorist' arrested on gun charges in Canada
One of India's most wanted terrorists has been arrested and charged in connection with a recent alleged shooting in Ontario.
This Canadian airline will adopt Apple's new AirTag feature to help recover lost baggage. Here's how
Apple announced that a new feature, 'Share Item Location,' will help users locate and recover misplaced items by sharing an AirTag location with third parties including airlines.