Council named the rink at Trafalgar Park Community Centre for Otto Jelinek in a 14–0 vote on September 8, 2026
Three days after the death of the world champion figure skater and former federal cabinet minister, who grew up in Oakville, Council waived its usual 30-day consultation and named the Rebecca Street rink in his honour.
- For the park the community centre sits in: Trafalgar Park.
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The details
What Council decided
On September 8, 2026, Oakville Town Council resolved that the rink inside Trafalgar Park Community Centre, at 133 Rebecca Street, be commemoratively recognized as the Otto Jelinek Rink. The motion was moved by Mayor Rob Burton, seconded by Ward 2 Councillor Ray Chisholm, and carried 14 to 0 on a recorded vote, with every member of Council then in office voting for it. The Ward 5 seat was vacant at the time.
The motion came forward as new business at a Planning and Development Council meeting, three days after Jelinek's death on September 5. Council first waived the notice requirement in its Procedure By-law so the motion could be debated the night it was introduced. The meeting had opened with the Mayor offering condolences and a moment of silence.
The agenda title refers to renaming the community centre, but the resolution names only the rink. Trafalgar Park Community Centre keeps its name.
Who Otto Jelinek was
The resolution sets out why Council chose him. It says Jelinek and his family fled communism in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and made their home in Oakville, where he attended Appleby College and Oakville Trafalgar High School. He won the 1962 World Figure Skating pairs championship with his sister Maria and represented Canada as an Olympian.
It goes on to say he served in Ottawa for more than two decades as a Member of Parliament and federal cabinet minister, and later as Canada's Ambassador to the Czech Republic, and that after an international business career he returned to Oakville to retire. The Town's notice lowering flags described him as a former Canadian cabinet minister and world champion figure skater.
A naming without the usual consultation
The Town's Facility and Indoor Asset Naming Policy requires a 30-day public engagement period. The resolution waived that period for this naming and directed staff to take the steps needed to put the name in place. It also authorized staff to arrange a public recognition and unveiling ceremony in consultation with the Jelinek family.
- Otto Jelinek Rink
- The rink within Trafalgar Park Community Centre, 133 Rebecca Street, Ward 2
- 14 to 0, recorded
- Mayor Burton; Councillor Chisholm
- The 30-day period under the naming policy was waived
- An unveiling ceremony, to be arranged with the Jelinek family
Where it stands now
The Town lowered flags at its facilities from September 9 until sunset on September 11. In an update dated November 2, it said flags at Government of Canada buildings in Oakville and on the Peace Tower in Ottawa would fly at half-mast on November 15, 2026, the day of Jelinek's celebration of life.
As of November 9, 2026, the Town has not announced a date for the unveiling at the rink. OakvilleIQ found no reference to one in the Town's 2026 news releases or public notices.