A group of Coquitlam curlers say they have filed a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal alleging they were discriminated against because of their age when the city decided to end curling at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex.
Brian Bastien, one of several people who helped draft the complaint, told The Tri-City News that by displacing curlers, many of whom are seniors, to create more ice time for skaters and minor hockey players, who are predominantly children, the city violated their rights.
“The reason they are evicting us, in our view, is age,” he said. “We say that is contrary to the Human Rights Code.”
Bastien added that he has filed the complaint with the tribunal this week and has sent copies of the documents to city staff and council members.
The complaint stems from council’s decision last fall to convert the curling ice at the Poirier complex into a regular ice rink while moving the curlers to the facility at the Port Moody rec complex. Coquitlam has been working with Port Moody to amalgamate the two curling clubs. City staff said the Poirier curling ice was under-utilized and would be better used by sports such as figure skating and hockey, where practices can start as early as 5:30 a.m.
Bastien acknowledged that ending curling at Poirier will affect more than just seniors.
In the complaint, he states that there are 500 regular curlers at the facility, of which only 200 are between the ages of 60 and 85. There are also 600 high school students who participate in the school district’s curling program each year.
Bastien said the 200 seniors will be more adversely affected by the change because they are regular users of the facility.
“There are 600 students who use the curling rink for educational programming but they only use it three times a year,” he said. “That is very different than the 200 senior curlers who use it three to four times a week for the curling season.”
Kathleen Vincent, Coquitlam’s manager of corporate communications, said the city has not been able to confirm whether Bastien’s complaint has been officially filed.
The BC Human Rights Tribunal would not disclose whether it had received the documents, stating that confirmation is only given once a complaint is deemed viable and a hearing is scheduled.
Vincent said the city has been working with the displaced curlers to accommodate them as they move to amalgamate Coquitlam’s players with Port Moody’s club.
“I should note that, beyond this statement, we will not comment on matters that may be considered by the tribunal,” she said.
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