Parents are divided over the Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association's decision to sideline a competitive team for 13- and 14-year-old girls. Some people say it's discriminatory and have taken their case to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. Others say the decision was simply based on logistics.

The cancellation of the Bantam A girls team has been a hot topic around local locker rooms but observers say it's just the latest off-ice clash over gender equality to end up before a tribunal. A number of similar cases across Canada have been settled by provincial human rights commissions in the past few years, some setting precedents and framing new policies to guide organizations that deal in Canada's most beloved sport.

Meanwhile, Canadian girls hockey registration numbers have jumped by about 40% during the past five years.

Whether or not the Nanaimo complaint, filed by a group of local parents, will lead to change remains to be seen. The minor hockey association says that there weren't enough kids to form a Bantam A team this year, which brings more ice time and other benefits compared to a recreational team. Parents insist there were more than enough girls willing to hit the ice.

As girls hockey grows in Canada, more new teams will be vying for equal ice time against longer-established boys teams. Plus, with the cultural and historic significance that hockey holds in Canada, traditional attitudes about men's and women's role in the iconic game can sometimes be hard to change, say advocates for girls sports.

"As there are more issues raised and lack of facility space as more women play, there are probably going to be more points where there can be potential conflict," said Robyn Durling, a lawyer with B.C. Human Rights Coalition.

Much of the controversy surrounding girls hockey has roots within rinks and locker rooms.

In Toronto, the Leaside Girls Hockey Association in Toronto has mobilized a petition and threatened a human rights complaint in its bid to compete for the same ice time as male players. The city's mayor said last week he's backing the association's concerns.

Nanaimo Minor Hockey president James Mitchell said he won't comment on the Nanaimo human rights complaint until he sees exactly what it says. However, Mitchell agreed that allocating ice time means tough choices for the organization.

"Ice is a commodity and you only have so much to allocate. More facilities would improve hockey in Nanaimo as a whole," he said, adding weekend "prime ice" is where Nanaimo is particularly short. "We want to provide as many opportunities for as many people as possible, it's not about one group or another."

Clashes over the use of change rooms have also led to claims of human rights violations.

In 2005, a B.C. mom lodged a human rights complaint because she thought her 14-year-old daughter's rights were violated when she and other female minor hockey players were barred from using the same changing rooms as the rest of the team. She argued they missed out on important coaching sessions, as well as team camaraderie.

A series of meetings with a mediator from the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal resulted in a policy that outlined dress code and showering guidelines so co-ed teams could continue to share a change room after age 11.

These type of issues can sometimes cause challenges for hockey leagues, which don't normally own the facilities, said Durling.

"So they can make rules but if there's only two change rooms, there's only two change rooms. They don't have any authority to say, 'Put in more change rooms.'"

Teresa Hauca was involved with girls minor hockey in Nanaimo when the sport was in its infancy. In 1997, the girls didn't always receive a warm reception from the crowd.

The former girls division director recalls one parent shouting from the stands that girls were taking away the boys' time on the ice.

"It's surprising that today this is a gender issue and it was just as surprising in '97," she said, adding the majority of people were supportive of girls hockey.

Hockey has come a long way but there's more work needed to break long-entrenched stereotypes about female hockey players, said Karin Lofstrom, executive director of the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity.

More women joining executive positions in minor hockey associations will help further change attitudes, she said.

"It has a lot to do with tradition and how amateur sport and community hockey associations have been run for many, many years; (they have) to change the philosophy or adjust it so girls are welcome in the program as well."

She's concerned about the number of cases going to human rights tribunals over gender issues in sport, since it uses up energy and resources within the amateur organizations.

"Some people have been hanging onto a system from the past and have not been willing to change until they're legally forced to and it costs a lot of money to get to that point," she said.

Glen McCurdie, senior director of membership services for Hockey Canada, said there will always be people who are not fully accepting of girls in hockey.

"But I think, overall, the mentality within hockey circles is far more inclusive today and will get better as time progresses," he said.

Hockey Canada has been hit with "numerous" human rights complaints over the years and has adjusted its policies as a result, including the creation of more girls programs.

The organization also allows girls to play on both a girls and boys team if they make the cut, which is a policy that stems from a landmark 1985 Supreme Court ruling after 10-year-old Justine Blainey was barred from playing on a boys team.

At least a dozen local girls trained hard over the summer with the hopes of competing at the bantam A level this fall. Technically, they could try out for the boys team but the idea of crashing into the boards with the boys doesn't appeal to them.

Instead, they play on recreational squads.

"When you play house, not everyone takes it seriously and it gets frustrating sometimes," said Danielle Hardy, one of several girls who had hoped to play Bantam A hockey this year.

Paige Whitelaw, like the rest of her teammates, was also disappointed by the demise of their team.

"I wanted to get in the full experience and development I had the year before (when I played bantam A)," she said.

In the case of the Nanaimo complaint, the human rights tribunal will examine whether the bantam program would have been cancelled regardless if it was a boys or girls team, said Durling.

The tribunal will also look at what the minor hockey association has done to accommodate the girls in the now-defunct team to reduce any hardship, such as shuffling them on to other teams.

Durling said much of the groundwork in human rights regarding girls hockey has already been laid by previous cases but doesn't count out more players or parents fighting for women's rights in a sport that has historically been the domain of men.

B.C. BOYS VS. GIRLS IN MINOR HOCKEY

2006-07

Girls: 4,976

Boys: 36,112

2007-08

Girls: 5,347

Boys: 37,775

2008-09

Girls: 5,357

Boys: 37,373

HOCKEY BEFORE THE TRIBUNALS

- Jane Emlyn, of Lumby, files a complaint over female hockey players' equal access to change rooms with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, claiming that her daughter and other female hockey players' rights were violated when they were barred from using the same changing rooms as the rest of the team. In 2005, after a series of meetings with a tribunal mediator Emlyn said she's satisfied with B.C. Hockey's co-ed dressing policy. A similar complaint was filed last year in Salmon Arm but was settled.

- The University of Saskatchewan agrees to hire a full-time, high-performance women's hockey coach, increase funds for student awards to be distributed equally among women and men, and level the recruitment budgets for both teams in 2007 eight years after a group of women filed a human rights complaint claiming the women's team receives inferior treatment compared to the men's squad.

- A P.E.I. mother files a human rights complaint in 2008 after her daughter's hockey team was refused entry into a tournament that typically included only boys teams. Organizers said enough female players didn't register.

Source: B.C. Hockey

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