Keep Winnipeg's arenas open, hockey-playing protesters demand

The score wasn't the number a group of hockey-playing protesters were focused on Sunday afternoon in a game of shinny in downtown Winnipeg.

The protesters, with the citizen group Budget for All, were more concerned about the numbers that will be in the civic budget set to be tabled Friday — and whether the money in that budget will be enough to ensure the hockey rinks they hold dear can keep their doors open.

City administrators have been given strict orders to rein in public spending, as the city has prepared its budget for the next four years.

It's not yet known what Friday's multi-year budget will actually include, but in pre-budget consultations late last year, city staff warned that closures or service reductions at libraries, pools and arenas may be necessary to meet the budget targets.

Under a light snowfall Sunday, two dozen people gathered on the public plaza of True North Square for a ball hockey game organized by Budget for All, intended to speak out against possible cuts to city recreation centres and services.

They played for around a half hour, until True North officials cut the game short, citing concerns about damage to the plaza floor.

But organizers say they got their point across anyway. 

"We're here today saying 'no,'" to potential cuts, said Jake Nikkel from Budget for All.

"Don't close our arenas. Don't close our pools. Don't close our rec centres. Don't cut our Leisure Guide programming."

'Dangerously underfunded'

In a pre-budget meeting last November, the director of the city's community services department warned meeting a target of keeping spending increases under 0.5 per cent for the coming four years could see leisure guide programming cut 50 per cent in 2021, with the exception of swimming lessons.

Meeting those targets could also involve closing arenas and pools, Cindy Fernandes told city council's protection, community services and parks committee at the November meeting.

None of those cuts, if any, are guaranteed to be in the budget delivered Friday.

But the threat of cuts was enough to prompt the formation of Budget For All, a group protesting any movement toward austerity. 

Nikkel said city services are "dangerously underfunded" already, "so if the outcome of the budget is slightly less extreme cuts, that's still not good enough."

While the group's concerns are serious, the hockey players were enjoying themselves.

"The spirit that's being shown here is real community spirit, and I think that's what our city needs," said Wendy Boyd, who biked from St. Boniface to join the game.

"I don't think we need austerity. I don't think we need the cuts to recreational funding."

Cale Smith said he doesn't frequent Winnipeg's rinks as much as families with kids, but added recreation services are invaluable for a growing city.

The ball hockey game was held at True North Square to coincide with the arrival of fans for Sunday afternoon's Manitoba Moose game at the nearby Bell MTS Place — and also to highlight the rebates that True North receives from government for its property taxes.

A True North official approached the organizers of the ball hockey game right as it began, stating the group didn't have permission to use the public gathering space for their demonstration.

A member of Budget For All argued the venue, described on its website as a "privately owned, publicly accessible place," shouldn't bar visitors.

True North's website asks people to contact them about holding events in the plaza.