A four-day hockey tournament is underway in Barrhaven this weekend in honour of Eric Leighton, the Ottawa teen killed in a shop class explosion in May 2011.
"Just seeing Eric's name up there and the kids all wearing his jersey, it means a lot to us,” said Pat Leighton, Eric’s dad.
Leighton was killed when the metal barrel he was cutting into as part of a shop class project to make a barbeque exploded.
42 teams are participating in the tournament which was renamed the “Eric Leighton Memorial Tournament” after his death.
“He loved hockey, he loved lacrosse, the two most physical sports out there, that was him,” said Sheri Leighton, Eric’s mom. “Watching him play was the highlight.”
“Eric was one of us, one of our Raiders, he belonged in our community went to school in our community,” said Karen Russell, the tournament director.
The Leighton family has filed a lawsuit against the Ottawa Catholic School Board and a teacher. The school board has already been fined $275,000 for provincial safety standards violations. A coroner's inquest into Eric's death has also been called.
“We're hoping for some change, some guidelines set so you can't veer from the curriculum without getting approval and just to treat it as a workplace so if something like this happens again…people won’t have to fight like we did,” said Pat Leighton.
This weekend though, when so many are celebrating family and giving thanks, the Leighton’s, along with their daughter, are remembering Eric and the game he loved so much.
The tournament wraps up on Monday.
With a report from CTV’s Katie Griffin
