'This is not inclusion': Canadian hockey parents frustrated as foreign-born kids asked to apply for transfer
CBC
Mark Donkers of Sarnia, Ont., is your typical hockey-loving Canadian kid. The 11-year-old is proud to play for the under-12 BB Sarnia Sting junior team.
But while he wears the same jersey as his teammates — the one with the angry bee logo — Mark was told last month he couldn't keep playing on the team until he provided more documentation, because he wasn't born in Canada.
Mark has been playing hockey for years and the request came a week before a tournament in Kitchener.
He was born in Mexico and came to Canada with his Mexican-born mother, Adriana Mendoza, when he was a year old. His father is Canadian, and Mark and his mom have been Canadian citizens for more than 10 years.
But Mark was caught up by a rule of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the Zurich-based governing body of international hockey. The IIHF counts Canada among its 83 member associations.
The rule requires players of all ages who are in member nations to secure a transfer from their country of birth to the country where they plan to live and play hockey. Without this transfer, players born outside Canada can't be on the roster of a Canadian team licensed by Hockey Canada.
Mendoza sees it as a barrier to play — particularly for children from diverse backgrounds — at a time when there's a push to make the game more inclusive.
"We talk about inclusion, this is not inclusion," said Mendoza. "This is against certain people from certain countries."
Another parent in the Sarnia minor hockey association was tripped up by the same rule.
Harry Chadwick legally adopted his son Harrison from China in 2012 when Harrison was an infant.
Now 11, Harrison was also told he had to apply for a transfer, a process that requires forms to be filled out and a scan of the player's passport to be sent to the local hockey organization. From there, the documents are forwarded to the hockey association in the player's country of birth for approval.
Like Mendoza, Chadwick said it's a hoop his son shouldn't be forced to jump through to play hockey.
"It's pretty offensive to be asked to prove citizenship and get a transfer from a foreign country," said Chadwick. "My son was 16 months old when he left China. It's absolutely ridiculous."
In response to calls for comment from CBC News, both the IIHF and Hockey Canada provided emailed statements about the transfer rule.
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