Wheelchair user says ‘discriminatory’ Habs policy forced him to beg for tickets
Groupe CH denies any wrongdoing, says ticket restrictions were a temporary measure and no longer apply
With the Habs falling just shy of reaching the Stanley Cup final last spring, Joey Racanelli, like most fans, couldn’t wait to buy tickets for the upcoming season.
But when single-game tickets went on sale in early September, his excitement was short-lived.
asserted
excitement → say → September
As a wheelchair user, he buys tickets in the Bell Centre’s accessible seating section.
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he → buy → section
He typically goes to four or five games a season.
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He → go → games
But without warning, he says the Canadiens quietly changed their policy on reduced mobility seats, limiting him to one match for the entire season.
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Canadiens → say → season
“I don't think it's their goal,” he added, “but it certainly feels discriminatory.”
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it → think → ?
Unlike other customers who can purchase tickets online, customers who want reduced mobility seating don’t have that option.
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who → purchase → option
They have to call or go in person to the Bell Centre ticket office.
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They → have → office
Racanelli described the experience on the phone with the agent as he tried to get to the bottom of why his access was being restricted as embarrassing: “I basically had to beg for more tickets and I still couldn’t get them.”
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I → describe → them
Steven Laperrière, the general manager of the disability advocacy group Regroupement des activistes pour l'inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ), says setting different limits to the number of tickets a disabled person can buy could amount to a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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person → say → Rights
“You cannot discriminate against persons because of their handicap, you cannot do that.” Laperrière said.
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Laperrière → discriminate → that
He also takes issue with the policy at large.
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He → take → policy
“Why would a person be only allowed to have only one game per season?
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person → allow → season
We’re in a free country, right?”
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We → ’re → country
CBC confirmed through several other Habs fans who use wheelchairs that Racanelli's experience was not isolated.
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experience → confirm → wheelchairs
Paying the price for possible system abuse
At the time, Racanelli asked the ticket agent why the policy had changed.
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policy → pay → agent
“It felt like [they thought] I was trying to abuse the system, which obviously I was not.
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I → feel → system
I was just trying to get my tickets,” said Racanelli.
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Racanelli → try → tickets
Laperrière says he understands it can be challenging for event managers to make sure the accessible seats are being used properly.
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seats → say → ?
At the Bell Centre, Habs tickets in the reduced mobility section come at a much lower price than the other seats around them, which could tempt people to try and game the system.
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which → reduce → system
But why do people with disabilities have to pay the price and be limited in their ability to go see the Habs games because you can’t manage that properly?” he asks.
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he → have → that
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People with invisible disabilities like deafness, low vision or intellectual disabilities also have the right to use the accessible and reduced mobility section.
“
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People → close → section
I get it, it can be tough and you cannot prevent everything,” Laperrière says, “but no constraints is worth limiting the freedom of people with disabilities.”
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constraints → get → disabilities
CBC’s investigation found no evidence that the ticket policy change was disclosed publicly or communicated in any way to longtime users of the accessible and reduced mobility section at the Bell Centre prior to them calling to reserve tickets.
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them → find → tickets
Laperrière says regardless of why the team changed their policy, the lack of communication with users is inexcusable.
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lack → say → users
“[Groupe CH] is a big corporation, they do business everywhere.
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they → do → business
They should know better.
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They → know → ?
And to me, that they’re not putting it online is a lack of transparency, and I think we can understand why.”
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we → put → transparency
Laperrière also phoned the ticket office himself to ask for clarification on the policy, which he recorded.
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he → phone → which
He shared that conversation and a recording from another wheelchair user with CBC.
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He → share → CBC
In it, the ticket agent confirms they can only buy tickets for one match per season.
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they → confirm → season
Racanelli says in addition to asking for answers on the phone, he emailed Groupe CH and reached out to the Montreal Canadiens on social media regarding the ticketing policy changes.
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he → say → changes
He did not receive a response.
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He → receive → response
Team says policy applied to all fans, was temporary
The Montreal Canadiens and Groupe CH declined to be interviewed for this story.
In a statement, the club says that due to high demand, purchases were limited to one game per person, but added that the policy applied to all fans, not just those with reduced mobility.
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policy → say → mobility
It added that the policy was only in effect for a limited time, and now that the initial sales period is over, single-game tickets can be purchased — subject to availability.
However, even if the policy was applied to all fans during the limited period, the number of tickets available per client appeared to differ.
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number → add → client
When single-game tickets came on sale in early September, customers buying through Ticketmaster were limited to four seats per purchase.
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customers → come → purchase
Users of the reduced mobility section were only allowed to purchase the equivalent of two tickets — one for themselves and one for the person accompanying them.
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Users → reduce → them
For years, customers who wanted reduced mobility seating had to call or go in person to the ticketing office.
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who → want → office
That briefly changed last season, when the team moved everything to Ticketmaster.
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team → change → Ticketmaster
But it reverted to the old system this year.
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it → revert → system
CBC asked Groupe CH why it moved away from online sales after one year, and if or how it communicated the policy to customers in advance, but it did not provide an answer.
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it → ask → answer
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
