Did you see the note in Sports Illustrated?

Government of Canada Rules Against Hockey Canada

Independent hockey across Canada received a ruling from the Competition Bureau of Canada that states Hockey Canada cannot penalize players and parents for participating in independent hockey leagues.

(Copied from link below)
In July 2008, the Competition Bureau received a complaint regarding Hockey Canada’s bulletin A09-02, which outlined sanctions against so-called "outlaw" hockey leagues, referring to leagues that operate outside the auspices of Hockey Canada, and in that sense in direct competition with them.
The Bureau examined the bulletin and concluded that some aspects of the sanctions gave rise to issues under section 79 of the Competition Act, otherwise known as the "abuse of dominance" provision.
The Bureau contacted Hockey Canada to explain its concerns with the potential anti-competitive aspects of the sanctions. The ensuing dialogue led Hockey Canada to eliminate or substantially modify, as appropriate, the sanctions so as to address the Bureau’s concerns.
The revised bulletin containing the new sanctions was posted on Hockey Canada’s Web site.
This issue was formally resolved in May 2009.

Here is the direct link to the government's website: Competition Bureau of Canada

Welcome to the Ontario Rep Hockey League

Hi everyone! We are pleased to welcome you to the ORHL.

One of the many features of the Ontario Rep Hockey League is that we do not have any geographic boundaries for our Rep Hockey teams at any age. Scheduling of our games will be done to minimize disruption to our players’ school studies. No league games will be scheduled weekdays (Monday to Thursday) to ensure school homework is completed. We recognize the vital importance of education and for this reason, have partnered with the AAU (American Athletic Union).

The ORHL currently has in excess of 1,000 members and AAU currently, has in excess of 40,000 members.

Hockey Clubs

(alphabetical)

Carlisle Chill

(Carlisle Ontario)

London Cobras

(London Ontario)

Oxford-Perth Warlords

(Oxford County, Ontario)

Peel Predators

(Brampton, Peel Region Ontario)

Brant Phantoms

(Brant County Ontario)

Royal City Kings

(Guelph Ontario)

Hamilton Steelcats

(Hamilton Ontario)

Stratford Silver Knights

(Stratford Ontario)

Tri-City Titans

(Cambridge, Kitchener Ontario)

Cambridge Renegades

(Cambridge Ontario)

Norfolk Nationals

(Simcoe Ontario)

Cube Development Team

(Frankfort, Illinois)

There will be ORHL league play with teams from Toronto, Niagara, Hamilton, Kitchener, Guelph, Burlington, Milton, Cambridge, Brant and London, Ontario Canada.

The game of hockey is and always will be an important part of Canada’s heritage.

We are always looking forward to our newest season!

OPEN LETTER TO PARENTS OF ORHL PLAYERS AND THOSE INTERESTED IN OUR LEAGUE:

Firstly, we would like to thank the parents of our players currently playing in the Ontario Rep Hockey League (ORHL), we would like to thank you for your continued support for giving your children the opportunity to play hockey where you choose. For parents thinking of joining a team for this or next season we welcome you and thank you for considering our hockey programming for your child.

Recently there has been a number of negative letters written to local Hockey Canada associations by Hockey Canada about independent hockey leagues like the ORHL. At the ORHL we do not believe in commenting negatively about people who choose to see Hockey in a different way. We will not engage in a propaganda campaign with Hockey Canada. Many of you have received inaccurate and almost slanderous information about the rules regarding your children playing in our league or ones like the ORHL, either from coaches or even associations.

However, we want to direct you to the Hockey Canada Rule; "Any individual who participates in a Non-Sanctioned League after the Cut-Off Date of September 30th will lose all privileges with Hockey Canada only for the remainder of that season, and, may only apply for the reinstatement of those privileges after the end of that season." Please understand that this rule is a Hockey Canada rule and not an ORHL rule. In addition, since Hockey Canada introduced this rule in May 2009 the ORHL is not aware of any suspensions of players breaking this rule.

Our league is a "right to choose" program and we do not place any restrictions on player movement whatsoever at any time during the season. In fact, we allow our players to play in both ORHL and Hockey Canada if you so desire. Hockey Canada has identified September 30th of each season as the date by which you must decide if you wish to participate in their programming. Up until September 30th we encourage you to give our league a try and we are sure you won’t be disappointed.

Here is what you can expect from the ORHL:

We have over 50 teams in Ontario . We have been in business for 5 years, expanding every season,
No address boundaries – you can play for the team and coach you want with no restrictions
No releases needed – You do not need a release from Hockey Canada to join the ORHL. You also do not need any release to play in another city of your choice if you are not happy with the team in your area.
All our teams are required to provide "professionally instructed developments sessions". We don’t just train volunteer coaches we bring you professionals to develop your children.
All our away games are played on weekends as we believe in the importance of your child’s education and we want to provide time during the week without hockey to allow the time required to be successful in school.
All our participants are fully insured through the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) the worlds largest youth sports organization with over 100 years in operation. http://aauice.rsportz.com/
A grand championship tournament that is second to none in our opinion, to crowning our champions.

Kevin McKinnon
Commissioner ORHL / Director of Hockey Operations Ontario Rep Hockey League

Dear Parents

We are very pleased to welcome you to the Ontario Rep Hockey League (ORHL). We are the #1 Independent Hockey League in Ontario with over 50 teams from Tyke - Midget. We continue to grow year after year. Our priority is to provide a safe, well balanced, fair–play atmosphere for your child. We take great pride in developing your child into respectful players on and off the ice. We teach core values...respect your coaches, respect your teammates, respect your opponents, respect your game officials, respect your parents and respect the game of hockey we all love to play.

HOW WE ARRIVED HERE

Built a grass roots hockey development program
Established a unique development based and fair play focused program for our teams and operate a league with values to support this development focused effort.
Identified key team members: Coaches, Directors, Player Development Professionals and Licensees to execute and support our Mission and Vision.
Provide a development focused program, based on Core Values and ensure such program is brought to market in a manner best suited to satisfy "market demand".
The league is sanctioned under the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).
Watch for announcements about tryouts beginning in April of each year for most teams.

Regards,