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An Ontario provincial cabinet minister is calling for a reverse to a Toronto ban on a classic Canadian pastime.

Street hockey is welcomed in other major cities like Calgary, but is banned by Toronto’s city bylaws for safety reasons.

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Ontario’s new minister of children and youth services wrote an open letter to Toronto city council Monday, asking that councillors vote to strike down the ban.

Michael Coteau wrote that street hockey should be encouraged as a way to keep kids active.

In Calgary, there has never been a bylaw explicitly banning street hockey, but city officials recently decided to clarify an existing bylaw to make sure there’s no confusion: street hockey is allowed, even encouraged.

A city of Calgary spokeswoman says that police officers actively encourage kids to play street hockey, and some even keep hockey sticks in their police cars so they can join in.

But proponents of street hockey bans cite safety reasons.

For instance, in late 2010, an 11-year-old boy was struck by a vehicle while playing street hockey in Halifax and sent to hospital, according to media reports at the time.