Toronto mom behind girls' hockey league scores public ice time but says change needed

A tween girls' hockey league launched by a Toronto mother will have access to prime ice time on city-run rinks after taking their struggle public, but there's still much to be done to improve access, she says. 

Over the weekend, Amy Laski, who founded the group, told CBC Toronto the league's existence was in jeopardy due to a lack of access to public rinks, saying higher demand time slots are often given to legacy leagues with which the city has contracts, leaving leagues like hers with "leftover" ice time instead.

"Why shouldn't our girls have equal access to prime-time ice?" she asked. "If we're ever going to have girls, or other minority groups, play hockey, we have to start re-distributing the ice."

But on Monday night, Laski received an eleventh-hour phone call from the city.

After questions from CBC Toronto on its ice allocation policy, the city called Laski to offer the league a weeknight time slot for the 2023-2024 season. 

"By some absolute miracle, they just called me to offer Tuesday nights," she said. "It's something to start with."

However, the city making accommodations now after she spoke to media outlets doesn't signal a change to city policies, she said. 

In a statement to CBC Toronto, the city said it's engaged with Laski on the issue and mentioned the Tuesday evening slot offer. 

It said it works to make accommodations for all groups who need ice time. This past winter, the city offered "dedicated time slots" for women's shinny at 29 locations, it said. 

As the mother of three, Laski said she scoured the Greater Toronto Area, trying to find a recreational hockey league for girls on weekdays, specifically meant for fun and skills-building. She couldn't find any, so in the fall of 2021, she created her