NHL hub gets green light for Vancouver, sports volunteers covered for liability

Wednesday June 10, 2020 ~ VICTORIA, BC

by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News

“It’s for now, it’s not forever,” said Premier John Horgan today about the frustrations of the BC tourism sector during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. BC is still in Phase 2 of its Restart BC economic restart plan which indicates progressive stages of reopening various sectors.

“COVID-19 is in every corner of BC. It’s still a real and present threat to our well being,” said Horgan, adding that everyone in BC will “need to follow the guidelines until a vaccine is found”.

Horgan launched his weekly Wednesday press briefing in Victoria this afternoon with saying how hard Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Lisa Beare has been working to address the needs of the tourism and sport sectors in recent weeks.

He readily admitted today that even with more British Columbians travelling around this province this summer that the gap in tourism revenues due to restrictions on cross-border travel into BC and Canada will not be filled.

Vancouver available now as a hub for the NHL:

But the good news at the opening of his remarks is the the Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry has been working with the National Hockey League (NHL) toward a plan for Vancouver to be a hub for hockey this summer, and she has now approved the plan.

“Vancouver and BC would welcome the NHL as per the plan by Canucks and NHL,” said Horgan in today’s press briefing from the lawn of the BC Parliament buildings. He explained that there has been a modification of present public health orders, allowing a hockey team to be a family entity or bubble. Players would stay together in one hotel, travel to restaurants and to the arena together, and any testing would be the responsibility of the club. There would be no interaction with the public for 14 days (i.e. players would have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival).

Horgan said that Tourism Vancouver participated in how this could work, and said many sectors will benefit including hotels and food providers. “It would be a playoff platform involving Vancouver from beginning to end.” And also that protocols will be monitored from beginning to end.

Horgan says he will be ‘on his couch to watch’, as part of physical distancing. But that “BC has a great deal to offer the NHL. In the summer months I can’t think of a better place than BC.”

Amateur sport organizations and volunteers covered for liability:

Premier Horgan said that Minister Beare had also been working very hard to address the concerns of amateur sport organizations regarding liability during the COVID-19 period. He articulated that that it’s parents, volunteers and community participation that keep organizations going. But apparently provincial sport organizations were “not prepared to insure volunteers”, said Horgan.

So the “government has now passed an order protecting all these associations and volunteers from any litigation as a result of COVID-19”, said Horgan with some blend of composed defiance and perfunctory attention to detail.

Everyone will have to follow public health orders, he said, but said with confidence that he didn’t expect any difficulty with volunteers, youth and organizations wanting to comply with things like physical distancing and hygiene. Plans with each organization need to be approved, and many already have, the Premier said.

“We have freed up those volunteers from any fear of litigation,” said Horgan, listing off that the scope includes 4,100 sports organizations and 800,000 youth and adults who participate in amateur sport. “This is great news to get people outside, and back engaged in sport.”  

State of Emergency renewed for two more weeks:

Waiting until he was asked, Horgan almost casually confirmed that the State of Emergency in BC has been extended for another two weeks during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, to the end of the day June 23 (with Premier Horgan referencing that as “until the next cabinet meeting” which comes June 24. That will bring the emergency period to 14 weeks.

MLAs will be back in the legislature for regular sittings starting June 22, in an adapted setup of in-chamber and remote participation so that everyone is adhering to physical distancing.