Not all parents are getting access to the rink so some are petitioning the province to change that.

"I think that these kids are going home in a totally different state of mind than they've been in for the last three months."

The city's main venue for hockey games and concerts is set to become a makeshift homeless shelter under the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the better part of two decades, Falkland has been fundraising to improve its local rink.

OPP say a pickup truck drove onto one of the three ice rinks on Plant Street in Batawa on Jan. 25.

The 1,114-square metre (12,000-square foot) venue has a retractable roof, and serves as a water play area in the summer. 

The announcement was made Friday as the result of a new partnership between Scotiabank and Canlan Ice Sports, which operates the rinks.

A report estimates at a minimum the rink would cost $275,000 for one winter and cautions that costs would very likely spiral upwards.

City maintenance crews discovered extensive mould in the ceiling of the Terry Sawchuk Arena over the summer, and the Kimberly Avenue facility will remain closed for the season.

The Dene Tha' First Nation is located in a remote part of northern Alberta but thanks to a partnership with the RCMP and others, Indigenous children from that community can now enjoy an amenity children in other parts of Canada enjoy throughout the cold winter months.