Ok, so I get home tonight and there is a letter from my MP.
My previous demands were as follows. Amend section 83 of the federal criminal code in Canada to allow for sportfighting, (MMA).
His reply was that I need to contact the Minister of Justice and the attorny general of Canada and forward my concerns to him.
Then in a handwritten note at the bottom of the page he adds, "You may want to appear before the justice committee."
So my Federal MP, Pat O'Brien, has officially shifted me off to the MOJ&AGC, Irwin Colter.
I shall start on that e-mail this week repeating my demands that the Federal criminal code section 83 be amended to allow sportfighting, or mma, in Canada.
Oh, and my Provincial rep, Khalil Ramal, had his assistant send me this today.
"Hi Doug:
Just wanted to let you know that I have done a letter
to Commissioner Hayashi. Khalil will have a chance to
approve and sign it on Thursday or Friday when he
returns from Toronto. I'm enclosing your original
email for the Commissioner to respond to and I'll snail mail you a hard copy once it is signed.
Talk to you soon. Email me if you have any questions
or concerns.
Julie"
I asked why mma is not being allowed to occur in my province while it is in other provinces and why the Ontario Athletic Commission has not followed suit in sanctioning the sport.
No big steps but hey, it's got to go somewhere I suppose.
Since Criminal Code 83 is a federal code and the OAC uses it to prevent MMA in Ontario, what legislation has the province of Quebec adopted to get around this code?
Can anyone provide this information or a link to it?
From what I understand the provincial athletic commission can sanction sportfighting if it chooses to. It has the ability to over ride the federal code as it is the legal body to sanction. It oversees the fight body as a whole in it's province.
The problem is that many provincial athletic comissions don't want to get caught up in the hassle of having to deal with the federal law should a federalie decide to get crappy about it.
Quebec for example has a long history of fights and their comission has a good track record in dealing with it. Ontario's AC just doesn't want to get involved for whatever reason.
I myself have asked my MPP to put pressure on the OAC and my MP and the MOJ to point out that other provinces have done it and the OAC can too if it chooses to regulate it. Failing that I ask that the sec be amended.
I got a copy of the letter my MPP sent to the OAC.
"Dear Comissioner,
Please find enclosed a copy of an e-mail sent to me by mr. doug nemeth, a costituant in my riding of london fanshawe. Mr nemeth has requested that I forward his e-mail to you for consideration.
As you can see, mr nemeth would like your comission to recognize and provide proper sanctioning for the sport of mixed martial arts. I would sincrely appreciate your consideration of his e-mail and wanted to give you an opportunity to respond to his concerns.
Thank you for you time and attention to this matter."
That's great that you guys are mailing your MP and MPPs. I'm pretty certain that they are obligated to respond to you. I'd suggest you send them a follow up letter.
Guys I have been doing this for YEARS!!! Ive promoted many shows and it always made my skin crawl that I had to do business in a province I didnt even live in. I always figured that one or many of my rights were ignored by the simple fact that I was being forced to work out of province to earn a living.
maybe we should get a list of every mpp out there and get someone from their area to contact them...or has this been done already?
I spoke with Ken Hayashi and others in his ministry at length over this past week. I'm certain that I have the appropriate understanding of the situation now. Nothing I've read on this forum or others has ever properly explained what the obstacles are.
I'll be writing this article for IF.com. Should be out in the next couple of weeks. I also intend on outlining exactly what we can do AS A COMMUNITY of Ontario residents who want to see MMA legalized.
If any of you guys/gals have some info you think would prove useful, please do not hesitate to contact me.
^Dougie, I don't want to be recommending stuff until I am absolutely certain that it's the best course of action. I anticipate Ken contacting me again tomorrow based on something I sent him over the weekend. As soon as I feel that I've gotten all the info there is to get I'll post everything I know trust me.
This is the response from Ken Hayashi re: MMA in Ontario.
"Dear Mr.Nemeth
Please be advised that under the Athletics control Act
and Regulations the Office of the Athletics Commissioner has the authority to sanction
professional boxing, boxing with the hands and feet
(kickboxing) and wrestling. And any that any other combative sport that is not recognized under the Athletics Control Act, or any amateur combative sport that is not recognized by the Ministry of Tourism & Recreation, falls under section 83 of the Canadian Criminal Code.
To have Mixed Martial Arts legalized it will take
legislative changes to both the Canadian Criminal Code and to the regulations under the Athletics
Control Act. One would have to lobby both the Federal
and Provincial governments to seek legislative amendments."