“Can every ice sport be done without ice and different equipment?” asks Bonita Zarrillo
Bonita Zarrillo, Member of Parliament for Port Moody – Coquitlam, BC, took to Twitter to ask “Is indoor skating even a necessity anymore?”
Zarrillo, who was narrowly elected in 2021 after losing to Conservative Nelly Shin in 2019, is the federal NDP critic for infrastructure, and deputy health critic.
There is no word yet on whether NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is open to shutting down Canada’s artificial ice arenas and moving solely to natural outdoor ice sports, when weather permits. Or replacing Canadian artificial ice surfaces with synthetic ice. Synthetic ice is fabricated from high-density polyethylene panels made from – you guessed it – refined petroleum – oil and gas.
Zarillo referenced a story posted on the green design and lifestyle web site inhabit.com listing the threats to the environment posed by artificial ice surfaces.
But the author Mariecor Agravante also pointed out that “critics of plastic ice worry about the environmental implications of the microplastics that could be released as skates erode the synthetic ice surface and create shavings and abrasions, which, when brushed or cleaned off of the rink, would likely be dumped in the refuse bin. From there, they could find their way into waterways and oceans, polluting the environment.”
The NDP hold the balance of power in the minority Parliament. Perhaps Singh and Zarrillo can persuade Justin Trudeau to put an end to kids ice hockey and figure skating in Canada. For the greater good, you know. To save the climate.
