OTTAWA — The federal government has made a move to assist one of three Canadian cities to become a hub city for the National Hockey League’s resumption of play.
A Canadian federal official told The Canadian Press on Thursday that the government issued an order in council that would allow one of Vancouver, Edmonton or Toronto to serve as one of the NHL’s two hub cities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paves the way potentially for one of the 3 Canadian cities to be a NHL hub. As I reported Thursday, sources with both the NHLPA and NHL dispute the perception that Toronto is a front-runner. It was made clear to me that Edmonton and Vancouver have just as much a shot at it still https://t.co/FRnyVJx45O
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 19, 2020
According to CTVNews, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino has issued a letter saying it’s in the national interest to have a Canadian hub after the Public Health Agency of Canada and the public health authorities in Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver all gave their approval of the NHL’s plan to keep players separate from the general public.
It would be called a cohort quarantine.
The move would allow the NHL to bypass the traditional 14-day quarantine for anyone entering Canada.
The NHL had to present a plan that met public health requirements for Canada before the government proceeded with the order.
Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Minneapolis/St. Paul are in the running to be hub cities.
The official was granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the order publicly.
The order is awaiting the Governor General’s signature.
