Source: Feds decision on Blue Jays not expected this week, trending in right direction

By Lucas Casaletto and Cormac Mac Sweeney

Canadians will have to wait a little bit longer to find out if the Toronto Blue Jays will be able to play home games on Canadian soil this summer but that their application is “trending in a very good direction.”

A government source tells 680 NEWS a final decision is not expected this week on the Blue Jays.

This comes after Toronto FC announced Wednesday that it will return to BMO Field on Saturday to host Orlando City SC. While a quarantine exemption has not been granted to MLS, a statement from Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino’s office issued Wednesday said fully vaccinated athletes with work permits can enter the country without completing a 14-day quarantine.

The Public Health Agency still hasn’t made a decision on whether or not the suggestions put forth by the Blue Jays address all health and safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the agency gives the clubs their blessing, the Immigration Minister still has to review the plans and may discuss them with cabinet before any final decisions are made.

In an update on Thursday, Canada’s Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo says the Blue Jays application for national interest exemption “is trending in a very good direction at this point [and] we’re looking at last details.”

Njoo wouldn’t give a date on when a decision would be made.

“So I can’t give you a date in terms of when a possible decision would be made for the NIE or national interest exemption, but I would say that in terms of the discussions from a public health perspective, they’ve been going very well.”

The Blue Jays publicly released their proposal to resume home games by July 30. To make a move happen in time for that date, the Blue Jays would likely need some indication of the government’s decision by Friday.

If they don’t get approval, their next target for a move north is the August 20 start of a seven-game homestand versus the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox.

“We continue to work with the federal government towards playing games at Rogers Centre starting July 30 and expect to receive a response by Friday,” the Blue Jays said in a statement.

“There are no further updates at this time, but we will share new information as it becomes available.”


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The Blue Jays’ last game at Rogers Centre was on Sept. 29, 2019, an 8-3 win over Tampa Bay. They have not been based at the 49,000-seat facility in any capacity in a year.

Although the Canadian government allowed the Blue Jays to host their summer training camp in Toronto last July before the shortened 2020 season, a request to play regular-season games north of the border was denied.

That left the Blue Jays scrambling to find a solution just days before the season opener. Toronto played on the road for more than two weeks before moving to Buffalo, the home of their triple-A affiliate.

The Blue Jays are among the 23 teams above an 85 per cent threshold of vaccination for players, coaches and medical/training staff, and the overall MLB populace is above an 85 per cent rate of vaccination.

This season, the Blue Jays started play at their spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., before returning to Buffalo’s Sahlen Field on June 1.

The Blue Jays return from the all-star break on Friday, when they start a three-game series with the Texas Rangers in Buffalo.

Ottawa gave the NHL a travel exemption for the final two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs and recently approved a plan that allowed CFL players and staff to return to Canada without undergoing a full 14-day quarantine.


With files from Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi

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