# Dwarf tossing is illegal in Ontario **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 14, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381 "2004-09-14T06:19:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/1 "2004-09-14T06:19:20Z")
From the “I swear to God I am not making this up” department: From the [Legislative Assembly of Ontario](http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bills/37_Parliament/Session4/b097_e.htm) website: > [@](#): > > Bill 97 2003: An Act to ban dwarf tossing > > Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows: > > _Dwarf tossing banned_ > > 1. (1) No person shall organize a dwarf tossing event or engage in dwarf tossing. > > _Offence_ > (2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both. > > _Commencement_ > 2. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent. > > _Short title_ > 3. The short title of this Act is the Dwarf Tossing Ban Act, 2003. > > EXPLANATORY NOTE > The Bill bans dwarf tossing in Ontario and makes it an offence to engage in dwarf tossing. … I don’t think there’s anything I could constructively add to this. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/2 "2004-09-14T06:30:43Z")
I seem to recall that similar legislation was mooted in one Australian state (Queensland?) a while ago, but I don’t think it was enacted. ---
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/3 "2004-09-14T08:16:51Z")
Can you still have a toss in the hay with a toss-pot dwarf,or would that be considered dwarf date rape? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/4 "2004-09-14T09:48:48Z")
:: puzzled look :: I can’t ever recall dwarf tossing to be a problem here in Ontario. Actually, I can’t ever recall dwarf tossing _occurring_ here in Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/5 "2004-09-14T10:14:15Z")
They might have thrown them all out of Ontario. And steady up with those Queensland jokes. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![aegypt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@aegypt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aegypt)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/6 "2004-09-14T11:49:29Z")
Appearantly the law doesn’t define dwarf tossing at all. So what’s to stop people from saying it’s something else, like “midget frisbee”? Seems like the dwarf with a competent lawyer could get tossed as much as he wants. In Australia, when the dwarf tossing ban was enacted, it was dwarfs that made money from this noble sport that complained, as I recall. By the way, is “dwarf” a politically correct term for a person of restricted growth, or could it be seen as insulting? ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/7 "2004-09-14T12:55:02Z")
This was a fairly big issue in the mid-late 80s, when there was a (as far as I know) fairly brief fad for this ‘sport.’ THe people against it (You’re exploiting the dwarves!) always infuriated me. It wasn’t like dwarves were being kidnapped and forced to participate; they were competent adults who chose to play. And it always struck me that it was a two person sport - the tosser and the tossee, so to speak, so that the skill and ability of the dwarf were as important as those of the tosser. But even if it weren’t, how dare you tell a competent adult that he is being exploited? I’m a liberal, but this is one area in which I divide big time from liberals in general. As far as I am concerned, you can not exploit a competent adult except by deceiving him or her - s/he is the only person capable of making the decision as to whether the benefit of a situation outweighs the cost for him/herself. Certainly there is no deceit involved in dwarf-tossing! ---
**Author:** ![aegypt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@aegypt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aegypt)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/8 "2004-09-14T13:21:36Z")
By the way, it’s “dwarfs” not “dwarves”. The spelling “dwarves” was invented by Tolkien to refer to his fantasy species of short guys with big axes and beards who lived for centuries. As opposed to short humans. IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/9 "2004-09-14T13:30:19Z")
Oh goody, my tax dollars at work… :rolleyes: I could see if this was some overreaction to the 80’s fad, but this was in 2003 for gosh sakes!! Does anyone even do this anymore!? Is there some sort of secret underground club? “The first rule of Dwarf Club is - you do not talk about Dwarf Club.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/10 "2004-09-14T15:02:26Z")
I guess they decided that Ontario didn’t need that much money from tourism… ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/11 "2004-09-14T15:14:29Z")
No dwarf tossing in Ontario, no necrophilia in California…how’s a guy supposed to have a little fun on this continent? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/12 "2004-09-14T15:30:07Z")
I’m not sure how this works in the first place but, like bowling, I’d imagine it’s a bad thing if your fingers get stuck in a hole. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/13 "2004-09-14T17:31:47Z")
Watch for dwarf-tossing parlours to open up shortly in Manitoba and Quebec. ---
**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/14 "2004-09-14T18:26:08Z")
I’m with **Oy!**. I remember a similar issue in some american city or another. The only vocal opposition to the ban came from the dwarfs themselves, who felt that the city council should not be making it harder for them to earn a living. -lv ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/15 "2004-09-14T18:44:06Z")
If I were a dwarf who wanted to get tossed in Ontario, I think I’d have the basis for a Charter challenge. It’s discriminatory that dwarfs can’t choose to be tossed, whereas tall people can be tossed if they choose to be. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/16 "2004-09-14T18:50:59Z")
Ontario is behind the times on this. [http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/09/27/dwarf.throwing/](http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/09/27/dwarf.throwing/) Personally, I think dwarf tossing is the pinnacle of idiocy, but in “protecting” little people we are actually treating them like children who cannot be trusted make their own decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2004, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/17 "2004-09-15T03:03:39Z")
I related news, Ontario is petitioning the governments of New Zealand, the UK, and the US, respectively, demanding that Peter Jackson, John Rhys-Davies, and Viggo Mortensen be handed over for trial. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/18 "2004-09-15T03:22:06Z")
Organizing dwarf tossing events is legal in Ontario. The bill to ban it died on the table after first reading. [http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/97374.htm](http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/97374.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/19 "2004-09-15T03:51:33Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I related news, Ontario is petitioning the governments of New Zealand, the UK, and the US, respectively, demanding that Peter Jackson, John Rhys-Davies, and Viggo Mortensen be handed over for trial. I’m not sure whether to be :mad: that you stole the idea for a joke that I was planning to post here, or to compliment you on coming up with a better twist on it than I’d thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381/20 "2004-09-15T04:00:13Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I’m not sure whether to be :mad: that you stole the idea for a joke that I was planning to post here, or to compliment you on coming up with a better twist on it than I’d thought of. I’ve always felt you can tell the measure of a man by the quality of his enemies, so I’d take it as a personal favor if you’d hate my guts over it. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarf-tossing-is-illegal-in-ontario/264381.md?page=2)