Months after the Toronto Sun requested a list of the days when Chief Myron Demkiw and his deputy chiefs worked at the Rogers Centre, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) now says it cannot find any records that show when its leaders were at the venue.
In late January, the Sun made a freedom-of-information request to the City of Toronto for all the days in 2024 and 2025 on which executive-level staff at its emergency departments worked at 1 Blue Jays Way, the address of the Rogers Centre. Part of that request was forwarded to the TPS on Feb. 3, and later that month the Sun spoke with the police force’s privacy unit about the request over the phone.
City Confirms Other Emergency Staff Worked Events
The city has confirmed that executive-level staff from both the paramedics service and its emergency management division worked at the Rogers Centre during Blue Jays playoff games in 2025 and Taylor Swift concerts in 2024, but at no other point in those two years. However, the city has not specified what duties its emergency chiefs would have had during those events.
That Demkiw was in uniform and met with people behind the scenes as Toronto’s chief of police during the World Series last fall is no secret. Photos and video posted to social media show Demkiw in rooms on one of the stadium’s suite levels on at least one of Toronto’s home dates during the MLB championship series. One of those photos shows Demkiw arm in arm with Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop.
TPS Statement on Chief's Attendance
“The chief routinely attends major events and operational deployments across the city as part of his leadership responsibilities – supporting officers, observing operations and engaging with partners and the community,” Stephanie Sayer, with TPS, told the Sun in an emailed statement in May. “This includes large-scale events where significant policing resources are deployed. He attends in uniform, and visits are brief and focused on operational oversight. He does not remain to watch the events.”
While city officials have yet to provide specifics about the duties and days worked by TFS Chief Jim Jessop and TPS Chief Myron Demkiw at the Rogers Centre during recent big-ticket events, social media photos show them together during Game 1 of the World Series.
World Cup Context and Fire Services Refusal
Toronto Police informed the Sun that “no responsive records could be located” a few hours before Toronto’s first World Cup game on Friday. City Hall put out an all-staff memo last month warning that accepting gifts related to the World Cup, including “special access” to events, would violate Toronto’s public service bylaw. If staff are required to work an event, they’ll be expected to be able to prove it, the memo said.
Toronto Fire Services has also kept secret the details of its leadership attending World Series games while on duty. While the Sun has been told that Jessop and deputy chiefs were in the Rogers Centre during last fall’s MLB championship, TFS has refused to specify which days members of its top brass were there. TFS says it believes its executive-level staff technically don’t work shifts, and thus the freedom-of-information request doesn’t apply to them. The Sun has filed appeals with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario to dispute the decisions of the TPS and TFS.
“Rogers Centre has robust security measures both inside and outside of the stadium and works closely with the city and all levels of law enforcement to ensure a safe experience for all fans,” Andrea Goldstein, the team’s vice-president of communications, said in an email last month. Goldstein referred more specific questions about emergency operations to the City of Toronto.
