The Canadian Press have divulged an interesting piece of news today, relaying that the UFC has hired former Ontario premier David Peterson to help lobby the Canadian government to amend Section 83 of the Canadian Criminal Code to include mixed martial arts as an acceptable, legal form of prizefighting.
The UFC has turned to some heavyweight help in its bid to hold a show in Toronto.
The mixed martial arts juggernaut has engaged former Ontario premier David Peterson and his Cassells Brock & Blackwell law firm to help lobby the Ontario government to sanction the sport. Peterson, a senior partner and chairman of the Toronto law firm, is also leading the bid to bring the 2015 Pan American Games to Toronto.
On the federal front, the UFC is using the services of the Capital Hill Group, a lobbyist that specializes “in building constructive, mutually beneficial partnerships between business and government,” according to its website.
The UFC hopes Ottawa will amend the Criminal Code to expand the section that permits boxing to include mixed martial arts.
Different jurisdictions have taken different approaches to MMA in Canada, meaning shows are staged in some areas but not others.
Payout Perspective:
MMAPayout.comwas one of the first to report that the UFC had given up at the provincial level and was trying to seek federal legalization of the sport; something the province of Ontario stipulated as a must before sanctioning any events.
Despite the good news that Peterson has come on board, things are still moving relatively slowly on the MMA front in Ontario. The expectation, or hope, remains that MMA will be legalized in the province by sometime next summer; opening the door for a UFC event sometime in the third or fourth quarter of 2010.
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