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.
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.
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.
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 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.
As we have reported in the past, vaccination rates for the leagues will be considered in the decision, and the Blue Jays’ proposal is different than the NHL as they are looking for regular season play, with more games and many more teams, players, and staff crossing the border.
With files from Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi
