Senators owner Melnyk working on challenge to Ontario attendance limits
Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is working on a pitch to the Ontario government to allow the team to welcome full-capacity crowds at the Canadian Tire Centre, the team’s president of business operations said Thursday.
Anthony LeBlanc says the restrictions that would see the Senators play home games in empty arenas are “nonsensical” and “draconian."
LeBlanc said Melnyk is putting together documentation to present to Premier Doug Ford to argue the organization’s case.
“He’s employing scientists that he’s worked with over the last several decades so he can put together an argument of why these current restrictions that are in place for facilities like Canadian Tire Centre make absolutely no sense from a scientific point of view,” LeBlanc told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll.
“Eugene’s approaching this purely through science,” LeBlanc added. “I know he’s had direct conversations with the premier.”
Under Ontario’s current rules, put in place to limit the spread of the Omicron variant, sports arenas are limited to 500 people or fewer until Feb. 21. The Senators have already played two home games with no fans this month, and have 10 more scheduled before that date.
LeBlanc said he believes the team should be allowed to fully reopen the CTC to fans, given they are requiring proof of vaccination and have upgraded to “state-of-the-art” air flow.
“I’ll take 50 per cent...but I don’t even know why we’d be at 50. We should be at 100 per cent,” he said.
And he questioned why facilities such as big box stores can welcome people up to half capacity while arenas are far more limited.
“We’re not sitting here looking for any form of special treatment,” LeBlanc said. “We’re just asking people to look at this rationally and say it just doesn’t make sense.”
However, one infectious disease expert said big box stores are a different proposition than live sporting events,
“At a big box store there is continual movement in a very large air space,” said Colin Furness, infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto. “You’re there for a fairly short time. You’re not pressed up close against other people.”
Furness said there is a higher risk of COVID-19 transmission at sporting events because many people aren’t wearing their masks the entire time.
“I don’t even think stadiums should have 500 people in them right now. Not when people can’t get cancer surgery,” he said. “I just think we need to organize our priorities here. And the billionaire owners of teams are going to take a hit, yes that’s true. But I’m far more concerned with small businesses and being able to keep them open.”
LeBlanc said he estimates the restrictions will lead to a $100 million loss in revenue for Ontario’s sports teams, including the Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, and OHL and AHL teams.
For a typical home-game, the Senators employ about 1,000 people, he said.
“Those part-time workers need that part-time job,” he said.
Jennifer O'Connell, a Senators guest services employee, says the two months without a paycheque comes at what is already the hardest time of the year.
"A lot of us have this as our main job, or we’re retired," she said. "It’s that extra income, and it’s all gone.
"There's people that need the money. Epsecially with the way everything is rising in prices; gas, groceries, everything. It's difficult, that's for sure."
Under the province’s reopening plan, sports venues can return to 50 per cent capacity on Feb. 21 and full capacity on March 14.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.