The city of Toronto will not press charges at this time after investigating complaints that more than a dozen young players training at a hockey school in an Etobicoke stadium relied on alleged vaccination exemption certificates issued by the same doctor. from British Columbia.
“The City of Toronto has completed its investigation of these complaints and, based on information currently available to City authorities, no charges have been issued,” a Toronto Public Health spokesperson told Global News in an email. .
The decision announced Wednesday followed concerns raised after police received a tip that, using similar exemption notes, some 15 young hockey players had been able to access the Westwood Arena in Etobicoke to attend practice sessions with Allstar Hockey School, Inc.
Concerns about alleged vaccination certificates were originally raised in a story reported by TSN.
Proof of vaccination, or a valid medical exemption, is now required for anyone over the age of 12 to participate in organized sports activities in Ontario, including hockey.
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Westwood Arena General Manager John Cook told Global News in an off-camera interview that his staff took note of the series of alleged waivers written by a physician practicing outside Ontario and were concerned.
“It seemed really weird,” Cook said.
“As each hockey player (a customer service employee) came in they realized it was from the same doctor, so yeah … we realized it was strange.”
Cook told Global News that he cooperated with the police. He said officials interviewed him and a representative from the Allstar hockey school in the arena.
Cook said the alleged vaccination exemption documents appeared to be signed by the same doctor in British Columbia.
“What we found really strange about the waivers is that they came from a doctor from outside the province and we didn’t realize that a doctor from outside the province can do it,” Cook said.
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The exemption letters were allegedly signed by Dr. Stephen Malthouse, a BC physician who has publicly criticized the government’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The rules created for the people of British Columbia are doing great harm,” Dr. Malthouse told Global News in February.
In a protest, he challenged the science behind wearing masks, social distancing, and lockdowns.
Global News did not see and was unable to examine the documents. Westwood Arena staff were unable to copy them, Cook said.
“The difficult thing is that we are not allowed to keep those exemptions, so we were not allowed to pass them on to anyone,” including the police, Cook said.
The Allstar hockey school is run by Jason Ricci, a former professional hockey player.
Contacted by Global News, Ricci strongly denied that his 20-year-old business had done anything wrong.
“To my knowledge, Allstar Hockey does not skate anyone with immunization exemptions,” he wrote in an email to Global News.
“Neither the Toronto police nor public health have contacted Allstar hockey with any of these allegations,” Ricci said just before the city of Toronto announced its decision.
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While Global News had not accused the company of any crime, Ricci said any claim would be “false, discriminatory and defamatory.”
“We are dealing with a nearly two-year pandemic and these are the stories of interest? Merry Christmas seems to make no more sense, ”Ricci concluded in the email to Global News.
He did not respond to a request for an on-camera interview.
The Westwood Arena manager said that while his staff were concerned about the alleged exemption letters, there was little they could do.
“I can’t stop people from using the sand as long as they follow government regulations and that’s what we did,” Cook said.
In the new year, Ontario is tightening the rules on vaccination exemptions.
“As of January 10, 2022, a written medical exemption will no longer be accepted for access to businesses and organizations that require proof of vaccination,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to Global News.
“Medical notes from jurisdictions other than Ontario are not eligible for the process at this time.”
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Reference-globalnews.ca