Staff shortage sends chill through city’s indoor arenas

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This article was published 22/01/2024 (668 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Concerns repeatedly raised about a shortage of certified arena operators leading to indoor facility shutdowns became a reality for one west Winnipeg rink recently, leading to fears of more scratched hockey games and skating lessons.

Varsity View Sportsplex in Charleswood was forced to cancel evening ice times Jan. 12 after one employee fell ill and couldn’t be replaced.

At least one certified employee is legally required to be on site for safety reasons.

“We couldn’t get anyone to cover the shift.… So we had to make a difficult decision to close the centre on the Friday night,” said Sean Moore, president of Varsity View Community Centre, which operates the rink.

Moore said he’s feared the centre was “one flu away” from having to shut its doors for at least a year. The facility has extremely dedicated staff, he said, but there are not enough certified arena operators to cover absences.

“There’s not a large pool to draw on,” he said. “I’m just concerned that indoor hockey is just an endangered species, if things continue this way, or all indoor ice sports.”

Moore said many certified operators are over the age of 60 and there aren’t many younger people training to replace them, which has facilities everywhere scrambling to find staff.

The situation has ignited fears that this is just the beginning.

Coun. Evan Duncan, chairman of city council’s community services committee, said he’s heard many rinks are at risk of closure around Winnipeg and beyond, threatening key recreation services.

“They’re all at the brink of having to either shut down arenas or (closing) for part of the night,” said Duncan, whose Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood ward includes Varsity View.

“I don’t know what else is more at the core of Winnipeg than hockey, and we’re going to have a lot of upset people in the community if something’s not done.”

He and others blame the shortage largely on testing requirements for provincial certification. Duncan said multiple rink operators have told him the vast majority of applicants fail the final exam.

In October, city council approved a call to ask the Manitoba government to review the certification process and modernize legislation governing it, which Duncan hopes would make it easier to qualify. He said the test appears to require extensive knowledge on completing facility repairs that aren’t actually part of the job.

There are concerns the shortage might tempt some facilities to operate without the required certified individual present.

“We’re not going to be able to staff arenas, at least not… with certified individuals, which causes a major safety concern,” said Duncan.

One certified operator said existing staff are being stretched thin trying to keep rinks open.

“There’s going to be a lot more closures due to the fact there’s (almost)… nobody qualified in the city to run them,” said Kevin Vautour, operations manager at Canlan Ice Sports Winnipeg on Ellice Avenue, which has three indoor hockey rinks.

Vautour, who is certified, works at a city-owned rink at night in addition to his day job, something he says is common.

“It’s just so we can fill these shifts, so we can keep these buildings open right now,” he said.

He agreed the current certification test is to blame.

“They made the exam so difficult that (almost) nobody can pass it.… If you have a classroom of 28, 26 are failing,” he said.

Meanwhile, a union leader said any change to the training and testing must make maintaining safety requirements a top priority, ensuring staff have sufficient skill to monitor an ice plant and prevent potentially dangerous ammonia leaks.

“We want to make sure that patrons using the facilities are kept safe,” said Gord Delbridge, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500.

“Often, many children are using these facilities and it’s a very important job,”

An ammonia leak at a rink in Fernie, B.C. killed three people in 2017, highlighting the need to closely monitor all arenas, Delbridge said.

The City of Winnipeg operates 12 arenas, none of which has closed due to staff shortages, city spokesman Kalen Qually said in an email. The municipal government currently has 21 arena attendants and would need 25 to be fully staffed, he noted.

In a written statement, the province’s Labour Department said it is working on options to “update standardized exams and available syllabus for staff who monitor, operate and maintain ammonia arenas and other refrigerant arenas.”

“This exam and the certification process was developed at a national level to ensure that individuals operating these facilities have the training and skills required to operate refrigeration systems safely,” it said. “Safety of rink users is paramount, and any changes to the training or skills required by operators must also ensure that safety is not compromised.”

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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