Hockey and politics don't usually mix. But Glenn Thibeault is mixing it up in a couple of different ways.
Last Sunday the rookie NDP MP from Sudbury took 21 Sudbury Wolves hockey players, who were in town to play the Ottawa 67s, on a tour of Parliament.
They walked through the limestone corridors, humbled he said, by the Book of Remembrance that records the names of the war dead because so many of them were around their age. And then they were taken on to the floor of the House of Commons, where just two days before Mr. Thibeault had been up on his feet asking a question, demanding an answer. He had hockey on his mind then, too.
The NDP sports critic wants a royal commission into violence in sports, especially hockey.
During last Friday's Question Period he asked for a commission, noting the recent escalation of violent head hits in NHL hockey and the growing aggression on the ice. Although his demands were ignored by parliamentary secretary Dean Del Mastro, who was filling in for the Sports Minister, Mr. Thibeault noticed support from other Tory MPs.
"They were all doing the head nod," he recalled in an interview Friday. "I think it's a good opportunity for us to continue to push forward."
On Tuesday night, he will push some more. That's when he'll question Sports Minister Gary Lunn during what MPs refer to as the "late show" - a 30-minute period prior to the adjournment of the House when MPs can follow up on their questions they felt weren't answered completely in Question Period.
Mr. Thibeault will get four minutes; Mr. Lunn will get four minutes to answer, and there is one minute of further questions.
"At the end of the day I don't have all the answers," he said. "But if we can get the right people around the table and be able to call the witnesses … we could truly try to get to maybe some of the root causes of violence in sports."
Mr. Thibeault is aware of the criticisms of royal commissions - the expense, seemingly no deadline, and then a report that winds up on a government department shelf. But for his commission he sees a two-week to a month-long inquiry to report before the next hockey season begins. He says the money spent would be worthwhile as it affects the health of Canadians.
"Let's bring in health; let's bring in law enforcement; let's talk about some of the social trends, some of the social consequences that may be peeking into a kid's life," he said, such as "domestic violence."
"You see something at home … and then you're going to demonstrate what you see at home on the ice. We've got to look at social trends."
The 40-year-old rookie MP was a rough and tough hockey player in his day. But he likes to think he only threw clean checks.
Until he was elected in 2008, he refereed minor hockey.
And there is one incident that still haunts him: An Atom player (nine- and 10-year-old kids) used his stick to viciously slash an opposing player on a part of his arm that wasn't covered by equipment. And the kid who did the slashing was on the team that was winning the game. The victim's arm was broken.
As the ref, Mr. Thibeault said he threw the book at the player but has no idea how the league followed up.
"We do what we can with the rule book and then the leagues need to follow up with that," he says. "Do the leagues have enough tools in their toolbox? Are they able to make the right decisions?
His reception Tuesday, however, may not be warm. Mr. Lunn said in a telephone interview that a royal commission is not the way to go. He doesn't think it's "the place of government to get involved and regulate." He said that coaching associations and other sports bodies have education programs to deal with these issues.
But Mr. Thibeault isn't giving up.
"What all Canadians need to worry about is how it's happening at the amateur levels and that's where we have an opportunity to come in and provide some support … Especially after the Olympics where we're all so jubilant about sport. It's just a perfect time to do it."
(Photo: Mr. Thibeault talks with members of the Sudbury Wolves during a team visit to Parliament this month. Handout)