Western Provinces Hockey Association (WPHA) applies for judicial review

The Western Provinces Hockey Association (WPHA) has applied for a judicial review of the Town of Barrhead’s decision to instead partnering with the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) to start a local Junior hockey team in the community.

Initially, the WPHA had approached the town about starting a local Junior hockey team. At their June 11 meeting, town council passed three motions relating to the new franchise.

However, after some investigation into the WPHA, town council rescinded those three motions at a special meeting on July 5.

On July 9, town council then passed another three almost-identical motions relating to the WSHL. The motions granted the league exclusive use of a dressing room at the Barrhead Agrena, set a weekday day-time ice rental rate of $80 per hour for practices and established a 70/30 revenue-sharing agreement for any advertisements placed in the Agrena.

However, WPHA expansion representative Derek Prue said he believes the town is reneging on an agreement the town made with the league and as a result has initiated legal proceedings in the form of a Court of Queens application for a judicial review.

The Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre explains that administrative bodies make decisions that affect peoples’ rights and a judicial review is the mechanism “by which Courts ensure that, in determining these rights, the government and its agencies act reasonably and fairly within the power granted to them.”

“[In the Town of Barrhead June 11 minutes] it is very clear that the WPHA was approved and that administration had been instructed to finalize the agreement,” he said.

Prue added that, based on the conversation he had with an “ecstatic” Town of Barrhead chief administrative officer (CAO) Edward LeBlanc, that confirms to him the WPHA had a deal with the municipality.

“He welcomed me to Barrhead, said the deal was done and started talking about setting a date for a press conference, things like that,” he said.

Besides his discussions with LeBlanc, Prue said he had also talked with representatives of the parks and recreation department in person at the town office and on the telephone, and everyone involved gave him the indication that an agreement was imminent.

Although it was not reflected in the minutes for the June 11 meeting the Leader’s story in the June 18 edition noted that councillors were delaying making a final decision regarding the franchise, saying more information was needed.

Most notably, councillors were concerned about media reports (which was pointed out by the Barrhead Leader) saying that the Town of Hinton had considered the contract they had with the WPHA Wildcats void due to the fact that the team failed to pay the amounts required under the agreement.

Prue disputes the Town of Hinton’s claims.

“There is no money owed to anyone in Hinton,” he said, adding the WPHA has initiated court proceedings to “protect its lease” in that community.

Connection with the WSHL

WPHA started operation last year with four teams: the Hinton Wildcats, the Cold Lake Wings, Edson Aeros and the Meadow Lake Mustangs from Saskatchewan.

Prue said that in order to play junior hockey, the WPHA needed to be associated with a sanctioning body.

Originally, they went with the WSHL, which originally seemed to be a good fit as both organizations were tuition-based.

“They provided insurance, constitution, bylaws, things like that,” he said, adding that in exchange WHPA franchises paid more than $300,000 to the WSHL.

But that affiliation has now been dissolved. For the upcoming season, the WHPA has affiliated itself with the Greater Metro Hockey League (GMHL), an independent tuition-based league based out of Ontario.

“It’s just a better fit for us. It’s Canadian-based which makes a lot more sense for us especially with the international players,” he said.

Prue added that the GHML has a proven track record in helping players make the next jump in their careers. “They have sent 800 players to the college and pro levels.”

Prue said what he is hoping to achieve by going to the courts is to convince Hinton and Barrhead to honour the commitment the municipalities have made to the WHPA.

“We negotiated and were approved for leases in both communities and are putting them on notice that if they attempt to move forward with a league other than us, legally it is not a good idea,” he said.

Prue added that if both municipalities dropped their plans of allowing WSHL franchises to use their facilities, they would drop their legal challenges.

He said the WPHA is still willing and able to establish a team in Barrhead for the upcoming GMHL season in October.

Town of Barrhead response

On July 24, the Barrhead Leader reached out to LeBlanc asking if he was aware that the WPHA had initiated court action against the municipality.

“We are not being sued by his [Prue] association,” he said, adding the town was moving forward in its efforts to bring Junior ‘A’ hockey to the community. “We have signed an ice-rental agreement with [commissioner] Ron White of the Western States Hockey League.”

Mayor Dave McKenzie said he wasn’t concerned about the potential court action, adding that it amounted to a case of sabre-rattling.

“There isn’t anything there. We didn’t sign any agreements,” he said.