On the surface there is a certain amount of life in Cricket Ontario and at the helm of the Toronto & District Cricket Association as spring moves into June and the summer. \u201cWelcome to 2021 Season – Trust you are all keeping safe and following COVID guidelines.\u201d says the Toronto and District Cricket Association\u2019s invitation for club and team registration on CricHQ.
\nThe new Cricket Ontario website (https:\/\/new.cricketontario.ca\/) recently posted an invitation for people to sign a \u201cPetition to Premier Doug Ford \u2013 Government of Ontario that calls \u201cfor the Ontario government to reopen Cricket & outdoor sports. (May 28, 2021).
\nNow I am likely to confuse some of cricket\u2019s Ontario leaders in stating that I support cricket and a number of other sports being allowed to take place this summer and to open the fields in a short rather than a long timeframe. But I will not sign the petition until some of these leading lights of Ontario cricket wake-up and update their documented standards, especially the \u201cSafe Resumption to Play Cricket In the Context of the COVID-19 (Version 1.4)\u201d that sleeps on the old Cricket Ontario (Cricket Council of Ontario) website.
\nThis Safe Resumption to Play Cricket (Version 1.4) document has a cover page dated June 11, 2020. So it was published before the Government of Ontario opened the doors for non-contact team sports and team sports with modified rules aimed at minimizing contact rules to be played last summer under Ontario\u2019s published regulations \u201cRules for Areas in Stage 3″ of the \u201cReopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, Chapter 17″ (\u201cThe Reopening Ontario Act\u201d).
\nThe Reopening Ontario Act received approval in the Ontario Legislature on or about July 21, 2020 and came to legal life on July 24, 2020. Part of this new Act incorporated provisions under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, the history of which dates back to, and beyond, the 2009 Revised Statutes of Ontario.
\nThe basic penalties under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, which were carried forward into the Reopening Ontario Act, were and are somewhat frightening in my opinion. Individuals who break the provisions of the Reopening Act could face a fine of up to $100,000 and a possible imprisonment for up to 1 year. Directors and officers of a corporation (a potential wake-up call to various \u201cBoard members\u201d, perhaps?) who are deemed to have allowed some unauthorized activity to take place could be fined up to $500,000. A corporation might face a fine of up to $10 million.
\nSuch potential sanctions, that could be applied for each day when an offence was deemed to have been committed, made me take a pause for thought last year.
\nExcept about Potential Penalties in the Reopening Ontario Act
\nJust to underline those potential penalties, here is the core text from the Reopening Ontario Act, that mirrors the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. Kindly keep in mind that a
\n \u201ccontinued section 7.0.2 order\u201d in the Reopening Ontario Act is about an order that is in section 7.0.2 of Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, which can create some confusion.
\nSo here is the \u201dOffences\u201d paragraph that appears at the start of the \u201cEnforcement\u201d of the Reopening Ontario and is still in place today (June 1, 2021).
\n\u201cOffences
\n10 (1) Every person who fails to comply with a continued section 7.0.2 order or who interferes with or obstructs any person in the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty conferred by such an order is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction,
\n(a) in the case of an individual, subject to clause (b), to a fine of not more than $100,000 and for a term of imprisonment of not more than one year;
\n(b) in the case of an individual who is a director or officer of a corporation, to a fine of not more than $500,000 and for a term of imprisonment of not more than one year; and
\n(c) in the case of a corporation, to a fine of not more than $10,000,000.
\nSeparate offence
\n(2) A person is guilty of a separate offence on each day that an offence under subsection (1) occurs or continues.
\nIncreased penalty
\n(3) Despite the maximum fines set out in subsection (1), the court that convicts a person of an offence may increase a fine imposed on the person by an amount equal to the financial benefit that was acquired by or that accrued to the person as a result of the commission of the offence.\u201d
\n(End of Excerpt)<\/p>\n
Back to and Beyond Reality?
\nNow there is a certain truth in Cricket Ontario\u2019s claims in the May 28, 2021 post on the new Cricket Ontario website about their actions last year, but – and it is a very big BUT in my opinion – the published version of Cricket Ontario\u2019s \u201cSafe Resumption to Play Cricket\u201d document on the old website is dated June 11, 2020. So it does not incorporate some of the important provisions in Ontario\u2019s July 2020 Rules for Areas in Stage 3 that applied for last year\u2019s cricket season.
\nAfter the Ontario Government pulled the plug on recreational team sports before the 2020 Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend, the Ontario Government made changes that introduced colour coded areas, each with specific guidelines within each of the separate Regulations about Areas in Stages 1, 2 and 3. One current challenge for recreational and amateur sport for 2021 is that those Area regulations have yet to be finalized.
\nNow I would agree that cricket being played as a team sport in and around the Greater Toronto Area in 2020 was both welcome and successful but I think there is a need for improved standards to be documented by Cricket Ontario for use by the cricketing community in Ontario.<\/p>\n
Cricket Ontario should, in my opinion, be demonstrating the type of detailed awareness of current regulatory and public health standards that can be seen via the facebook pages of the Niagara Cricket Club.
\n\u201cWe like to let the government know we want to get back to Cricket\u2013a safe, socially distanced outdoor sport!\u201d
\nOne of the provisions of the Rules for Areas in Stage 3 that did not seem to be realized by some on the boards of Cricket Ontario and certain cricket league boards from the time around late July 2020 when cricket as a team sport could be played was tha provision for spectators. In reality, there had been a need for \u201cspectator provision\u201d when practices for team sports were first allowed under the Rules for Areas in Stage 2. This was something the City of Toronto recognized as being important for young sports enthusiasts who might need a parent, guardian or older sibling to take them to wherever a sports practice or training session was to take place.
\nNow the original provisions for professional sports, such as the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) within Ontario\u2019s Reopening Act and associated regulations, did not allow the presence of spectators. Such sports operated according to specific agreements that had public health approval. If the COVID-19 situation had improved as summer became fall in 2020 then some allowance for spectators could have been agreed and been incorporated into modified NHL and NBA agreements.
\nSo if you were to look at \u201cSchedule 2 Specific Rules\u201d of the July 31, 2020 and move down to paragraph 8 about \u201cSports and fitness Facilities\u201d you would find paragraph 8.4 which read: 8.
\n4. The total number of spectators permitted to be at the facility at any one time must be limited to the number that can maintain a physical distance of at least two metres from every other person in the facility, and in any event cannot exceed,
\ni. 50 spectators, if the spectators will be indoors, or
\nii. 100 spectators, if the spectators will be outdoors.
\nSo some specific cricketing regulations should have been created that would address whatever mask wearing and\/or separation between players, event officials and parents\/spectators was thought appropriate and necessary. Things seemed to work out quite well during games at the Toronto & District Cricket Association\u2019s junior championships.
\nI believe better guidance is needed regarding for end of game situations, especially when speeches and presentations are made following a final. There is, in my opinion, a related need to ensure photos and videos from sports events and presentations posted on social media give the impression that some social distancing were observed. In order to achieve that goal, there is a need, in my opinion, to document what is required at our cricket matches and tournaments, such as Ontario Regional Championships. The Hamilton and District CA provided some useful examples with team photos of teams from playoffs that only included the players.<\/p>\n
Improvements to Ontario\u2019s cricketing COVID-19 guidance might assist at the national and international in seeing a return of inter-provincial and international cricket in Ontario at some time after international travel restrictions are eased. But I think international cricket in Ontario is likely to be a write-off for this year due to matters well beyond the control of Cricket Ontario and Cricket Canada. But that is not an excuse or reason for Cricket Ontario to slumber and sleep when the Cricket Ontario June 2020 resumption of play document needs to be updated.
\nAt minimum both the Toronto and District CA and Cricket Ontario social media include messages of hope that \u201cyou are all keeping safe and following COVID guidelines\u201d. Perhaps both organizations, particularly some of the leading board members\/directors of each organization, should check to see and ensure their guidance to member clubs and players meet or exceed current Ontario guidelines?
\nI, for one, cannot support the Cricket Ontario petition with my signature until the cricketing protocols for which Cricket Ontario has responsibility are improved. But I do favour people being allowed to escape from homes where there may be many people stuck indoors for too many hours on too many days.
\nSo I end with barely a mention that as a federally recognized sport by the Canadian government and with recognition by Canada\u2019s Olympic sports body, Cricket Canada could be attempting to host practices for national team players at junior and senior levels on the path to international world cup qualifying events and world cup tournaments themselves. Some of the battles for cricketing administrative supremacy in some of Canadian cricket\u2019s leading provinces likely prevents such progress, which is sad for many talented players.
\nEddie Norfolk Toronto
\nJune 1, 2021<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the surface there is a certain amount of life in Cricket Ontario and at the helm of the Toronto & District Cricket Association as spring moves into June and the summer. \u201cWelcome to 2021 Season – Trust you are all keeping safe and following COVID guidelines.\u201d says the Toronto and District Cricket Association\u2019s invitation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13487"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13488,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13487\/revisions\/13488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadacricket.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}