Councillor says cancelling Panda Game would not stop parties

The councillor representing Sandy Hill says cancelling the annual Panda Game between the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and the Carleton Ravens won’t stop the party from spilling into residential streets.

Mathieu Fleury says there needs to be a “serious conversation” about homecoming weekend in the capital to keep streets and residents safe.

“Like last year, there needs to be a full debrief,” says Fleury. “It is very early to say one way or the other, people will ask and say, this seems simple. People like the football game or they don’t.”

Fleury says, “It is not a question of cancelling or not a football game, it is a bigger umbrella of homegoing environment... we have seen Queen’s University and what their homecoming was like, even when they canceled homecoming, how crazier that got. I want more nuance.”

This weekend, seven people were arrested, and dozens of tickets were handed out for open alcohol and excessive noise during a Sandy Hill street party relating to the annual football game. Police are investigating the “unsanctioned gathering.”

Fleury says, “Obviously Homecoming is the same weekend as Panda, it is one of the events of Homecoming. It would be easy for me to stand and say, just cancel the game, but that doesn’t remove the pressures and risk we see in Sandy Hill.”

Fleury says that because of measures put in place by both universities, as well as the city and police, the pre-game activities and the Panda Game itself was a success. But the issue remains the post-game celebrations.

“We are narrowing to a post-game environment, and if we look at it more closely the events were really, really challenging between 9 p.m. and midnight,” Fleury says.

“There needs to be deep thought into how to prevent folks from coming into cities, the traveling homecoming crowd—that needs to stop. Universities in both Ontario and Quebec need to take seriously the issues of homecoming and there are real recommendations that homecoming should be on the same weekend in every city, so we stop this traveling crowd and it becomes more management on a local level when it comes to those challenges. It would certainly help the situation here in Ottawa.”

Police will be forwarding the names of students to the universities if they are charged.

There was a heavy police presence in the area. The service came under harsh criticism last year, when festivities saw 2,000 people pack Russell Avenue, damaging property and flipping a vehicle.

Fleury says without the beefed-up presence this weekend, “No question it would have been as bad as last year. But that begs the question, is it expectable for our city to rely so heavily on enforcement for these types of events?”

He says, “One of the serious conversations is policing cost, because those are significant, and right now, the universities and organizers OSEG (Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group) are paying for the entire costs of this, and so should they, it shouldn’t be on the local taxpayer.”

OSEG told CTV News they are helping to cover the cost of pre-game as well as during the Panda Game, but not the costs after the game.

Police did not make a spokesperson available on Monday and provided no update to their investigation.