Ryan Reynolds urges Ontario town to rename arena

Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds is lending his voice to a heartfelt cause and urging the town of Cobourg, Ontario, to rename a local arena in honour of Grace Bowen, a nine-year-old girl who passed away from cancer in 2015.

Reynolds, who was born in Vancouver, made a special virtual appearance at a Cobourg town committee meeting this week, where he passionately advocated for renaming The Pond Arena after Grace. The two first met in 2014 during a Canada's Walk of Fame event in Toronto, where Bowen was backstage with hockey icon Hayley Wickenheiser.

Despite meeting over a decade ago, the connection they formed left a lasting impact on the Deadpool star.

"She changed my life really," Reynold told the town's Community Services, Protection and Economic Development Standing Committee. "I was just really taken by Grace, her name just kind of said it all."

Bowen and Reynolds kept in touch until her death in 2015 from osteosarcoma, the same type of cancer that claimed the life of Canadian hero Terry Fox in 1981.

"[The arena] was Grace's temple, that was her church, that was her everything. Hockey was her life," Reynolds said.

A balloon sculpture with Grace's story has already been installed at the arena as part of SickKids' 150th birthday celebrations. However, Reynolds, along with Bowen's parents, believes that renaming the area would be a more permanent and powerful way to honour her legacy.

"As parents of someone who has lost a child, I think I can speak for anyone in our shoes. The biggest fear is that you’ll never hear someone else say their name again," Grace's father, Greg, said at the meeting. 

The committee voted unanimously to move the proposal forward, and Cobourg City Council will be voting on the agenda item on April 30.