Regina lawyer calls for health officials to remedy water shortage at Mosaic Stadium

Regina lawyer Gerald Heinrichs is calling for health officials to step in after long lineups at Mosaic Stadium’s water fountains.

EMS said they responded to 21 calls for help with heat-related issues during the July 29 game.

“I was troubled that perhaps dozens of people were injured or hurt at the game, at least two taken to hospital,” Heinrichs said.

“A brand new state-of-the-art stadium they say, yet we have lineups that are shocking,” Heinrichs said. “It’s a bit like a refugee camp.”

Seats in the sun during the last home game reached a scorching 51 degrees Celsius.

Fans complained that lineups at the stadium’s four water stations were too long, prompting Heinrichs to write a letter to chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab and senior medical officer Dr. George Carson.

“I’m trusting they will take a leadership role here because as far as I can tell, the city and the stadium don’t think this is a very serious issue,” he said.

In his letter, Heinrichs wrote: “Mosaic stadium ought not be permitted to hold events until this serious public health problem is remedied.”

“Perhaps hundreds of people were harmed due to a lack of fair and reasonable public water.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Perhaps hundreds of people were harmed due to a lack of fair and reasonable public water."

Fans can bring in sealed one litre bottles of water to the stadium. Water is also available for sale, but Heinrichs said it’s not enough.

“There should be no problem with quick and easy access to public water at a stadium like this,” he said.

The Ministry of Health and the City of Regina both declined comment on the issue.

Mayor Michael Fougere said in an interview with Global Regina last week that four water stations may not be enough.

“We’ll see what happens, but we’ve asked Evraz, who manages the stadium on behalf of the city, to look at this again and make sure we’re doing the right thing,” he said. “So people can bring their water in and have water, so we don’t have to go through this again, because nobody wants to go through this again.”

The Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region said in a statement it’s working with Mosaic Stadium officials to increase public awareness on dealing with hot temperatures at events, including options to bring water bottles, where fans can find water fountains, and where they can purchase water at the stadium.