Today, I have the honour to speak to Bill 99, Garrett’s Legacy Act, An Act to provide for safety measures respecting movable soccer goals.

Legacies are powerful. They are passed on and have a long-lasting impact, imparting wisdom and action.

Today, we call for action. We call for the sort of action that would prevent injury for children and for people of all ages.

It’s common in the warmer months for people to spend time outdoors in local parks. Sometimes it’s just to relax and enjoy the weather; other times it’s to work out, spend time with friends or play a sport like football, baseball or soccer.

One thing we don’t really think about is the safety of the soccer goals found in a lot of our local parks, schools and sports fields. Many people don’t realize that not all soccer goals are anchored to the ground, and they don’t recognize the danger when they hang off the crossbar to do a pull-up, a chin-up, or even just a stretch. Improperly secured soccer goals present a serious threat to athletes, to children and to anyone using them or around them.

Sadly, we’ve all heard of incidents across the country of goalposts collapsing and falling on unsuspecting children, youths, adults, that have resulted in fatal injuries. These accidents are preventable and wouldn’t have happened if the goalposts were secured down. One life lost to a preventable accident is one too many, but the fact is, there have been over 50 lives lost since the 1950s to these kinds of incidents. That number is far too high for us to ignore.

There are solutions we can action. Similar to the Movable Soccer Goal Safety Act implemented in the Yukon, we too can ensure that goalposts are anchored down, and have inspections to make sure the equipment is safely secured.

In the Yukon, owners of movable nets for public use are now required to inspect their goals twice annually: once at the beginning of each soccer season and at another time during the year. They’re also required to keep records of the goals’ condition.

The Yukon and many states in the USA recognized that there needed to be laws surrounding the use of movable goalposts.

For example, in the state of Illinois, Zach’s Law requires all movable soccer goals manufactured and sold in the state of Illinois to be tip-resistant. It also requires organizations that own and control a movable soccer goal to create a safety plan and an education policy that outlines how the organization will specifically address the safety issues associated with movable soccer goals.

These changes in how equipment is installed will prevent injuries and fatalities, and enhance safety.

Garrett’s Legacy Act aims to protect the lives of people around movable soccer goals. The bill states that organizations or entities that make a movable soccer goal available for use by a member of the public shall ensure that the goal is located on a level surface, securely anchored in accordance with the regulations, and meet any educational training or other requirements that may be prescribed. The bill aims to allow for regulations and mandates for safe usage of movable goalposts and allows the minister to establish an avenue to report non-compliance with the act. Non-compliance would also result in fines for first-time and repeat offenders.

This bill is a step in the right direction in safeguarding children and the public while playing soccer, sports, or even spending time in the vicinity of goalposts.

Sport is an excellent way for children and youth to learn to play together and to work as a team to achieve a common goal.

Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, and the unfortunate incidences that have caused tragedies in communities are preventable and can be avoided.

Garrett’s Legacy Act, if passed, will require organizations to ensure that any movable goalposts are secured safely so that tragic accidents like Garrett’s never happen again. Tragedies like this are preventable, and we hope to implement solutions that will save lives.

Speaker, the safety of children and everyone in Ontario is a priority for our government.

Thank you to my colleague the MPP for Hastings–Lennox and Addington for bringing Garrett’s Legacy Act forward and for the opportunity to speak to the bill. And thank you to Garrett’s parents and family for your continued advocacy. Together, we can prevent these types of tragedies from happening.