In my continued efforts to bring attention to the legal gap making amateur martial arts / MMA illegal in British Columbia (and most Canadian Provinces for that matter) I approached BC’s current Minister of Sport to address this issue. Unsurprisingly the Government is wrapped up in the current election campaign and has no plans to remedy this until after the new government is formed. Once the election dust settles whichever party is given power will hopefully address this issue.
Below is Bill Bennett’s (the current Minister of Sport) full reply. I have reached out to the BCNDP about their plans to address this and will publish their response assuming they are prepared to address this issue. You can click here to read the government’s previous response acknowledging that once Bill S-209 passes “all provinces would have to designate a regulating body for amateur MMA.“
Erik,
I am deeply involved in my own re-election campaign here in Kootenay East and will not have the opportunity to give this topic the time it deserves until after May 14th. I am aware of the issues you raise and I received advice from my staff on the criminal code issues before my recent announcement. I agree the current situation in the country is not particularly adequate and I am hopeful the federal government will resolve the legislative impediment. Either way, we are proceeding, as other provinces have already proceeded. After the election, I would be grateful to sit down and discuss specifically what else you think the Province should do. I want to fix this situation.
Bill Bennett
Combat Sports Law 