The multimillion “Canada 150 Rink” will cost $215,000 per day and close after less than a month on Jan. 1.
OTTAWA—The celebratory Canada 150 ice rink on Parliament Hill comes with a $5.6-million price tag, 26-day lifespan (weather permitting) and a list of rules that prohibit hockey pucks, sticks, and “multiplayer games” like tag and skating races.
Cabinet ministers Mélanie Joly and Kent Hehr celebrated the release Wednesday of more details about the rink, which they pitched as the centrepiece of an end-of-year extravaganza to close out Canada’s 150th birthday bash.
Conservative MP Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent) shook his head at the short lifespan of the rink, saying it will be closed “just as the fun begins.”
“I welcome that kind of initiative. But so much money and so little time. It’s a disappointment for me,” Deltell told the Star.
“How can we spend so much money just for such a short period of time? It’s there. Why do we have to shut it down after 26 days? I don’t understand,” he said.
“I’m not opposed to this project . . . . It’s a lot of money. But can we at least play until the end of March.”
The government has also produced a website — Canada150Rink.com — that includes a list of rules of the rink. These include a warning that the rink may be “snowy or icy” and that, “despite best efforts to maintain the site, it may be slippery.”
People who want to skate on the rink will need to reserve tickets online two days in advance, and public skating sessions will last 40 minutes. No hockey sticks, pucks, food, figure skating or games like tag and races will be allowed during these sessions, the website says.
Officials speaking to the media on background Wednesday said the rink will accommodate about 200 people per public session. The rink also includes a cooling system to maintain the ice, which should keep the surface frozen if the temperature remains “within reason,” one of the officials said.
The government expects about 40,000 people to use the rink while it’s open.
The criticism of the rink comes after Joly was lambasted for her department’s new National Holocaust Memorial, after it was revealed that it would have to close-down during the winter months because of concerns about snow. Last week, Joly announced on Twitter that the memorial will be open this winter after all, but did not explain what had changed.
The memorial was also criticized after its original commemorative plaque did not mention that Jews were overwhelmingly the victims of the Holocaust during the Second World War.
www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/11/22/huh-no-hockey-sticks-or-pucks-on-parliament-hills-56-million-ice-rink-that-celebrates-canadas-birthday
Rideau Canal is less than a block away and is one of the most popular skating venues in Ottawa. In addition, there is a skating rink in front of Ottawa's city hall. But Joly felt that Canadians really needed to have one built in front of the Parliament buildings - not that the vast majority of us will ever be able to make use of it. Sunny ways, my friends, sunny frickin' ways.
OTTAWA—The celebratory Canada 150 ice rink on Parliament Hill comes with a $5.6-million price tag, 26-day lifespan (weather permitting) and a list of rules that prohibit hockey pucks, sticks, and “multiplayer games” like tag and skating races.
Cabinet ministers Mélanie Joly and Kent Hehr celebrated the release Wednesday of more details about the rink, which they pitched as the centrepiece of an end-of-year extravaganza to close out Canada’s 150th birthday bash.
Conservative MP Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent) shook his head at the short lifespan of the rink, saying it will be closed “just as the fun begins.”
“I welcome that kind of initiative. But so much money and so little time. It’s a disappointment for me,” Deltell told the Star.
“How can we spend so much money just for such a short period of time? It’s there. Why do we have to shut it down after 26 days? I don’t understand,” he said.
“I’m not opposed to this project . . . . It’s a lot of money. But can we at least play until the end of March.”
The government has also produced a website — Canada150Rink.com — that includes a list of rules of the rink. These include a warning that the rink may be “snowy or icy” and that, “despite best efforts to maintain the site, it may be slippery.”
People who want to skate on the rink will need to reserve tickets online two days in advance, and public skating sessions will last 40 minutes. No hockey sticks, pucks, food, figure skating or games like tag and races will be allowed during these sessions, the website says.
Officials speaking to the media on background Wednesday said the rink will accommodate about 200 people per public session. The rink also includes a cooling system to maintain the ice, which should keep the surface frozen if the temperature remains “within reason,” one of the officials said.
The government expects about 40,000 people to use the rink while it’s open.
The criticism of the rink comes after Joly was lambasted for her department’s new National Holocaust Memorial, after it was revealed that it would have to close-down during the winter months because of concerns about snow. Last week, Joly announced on Twitter that the memorial will be open this winter after all, but did not explain what had changed.
The memorial was also criticized after its original commemorative plaque did not mention that Jews were overwhelmingly the victims of the Holocaust during the Second World War.
www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/11/22/huh-no-hockey-sticks-or-pucks-on-parliament-hills-56-million-ice-rink-that-celebrates-canadas-birthday
Rideau Canal is less than a block away and is one of the most popular skating venues in Ottawa. In addition, there is a skating rink in front of Ottawa's city hall. But Joly felt that Canadians really needed to have one built in front of the Parliament buildings - not that the vast majority of us will ever be able to make use of it. Sunny ways, my friends, sunny frickin' ways.
