To continue to protect the health the health and safety of all GTHL Participants by requiring that certain individuals be fully vaccinated as a condition of participating in GTHL activities in accordance with defined timelines.

• “Accepted COVID-19 vaccine” means a COVID-19 vaccine that has been approved for use by Health Canada. 
• “Affected Persons” means Vaccine-Eligible Players, Game Officials, GTHL Arena Personnel, GTHL Officials, Instructors, Organization Officials, Team Officials and Volunteers. 
• “Fully Vaccinated” means having received the completed series of an Accepted COVID-19 Vaccine. An individual is considered Fully Vaccinated 14 days after receiving their completed dose. 
• “Game Official” means a referee, lines person, timekeeper, or any other person designated by the GTHL as a Game Official. 
• “GTHL Arena Personnel” means rink attendants, officiating supervisors, Series Chairs, or any other person or persons designated by the League as GTHL Arena Personnel. 
• “GTHL Official” means a member of the Board of Directors or a member of the staff, including interns, of the League. 
• “Instructor” means any person engaged by an Organization or a Team to provide specialized instruction to players (e.g.: power skating, goaltender coaching) who is not registered to the League or to any Organization. 
• “League” means the Greater Toronto Hockey League. 
• “Organization” means a Club, Division, Division member or Affiliated Group as defined in GTHL Rules and Regulations. 
• “Organization Official” means a member of the Board of Directors or a member of the staff, including interns, of an Organization. 
• “Participant” or “participant” means any person registered to the Greater Toronto Hockey League through any Club, Division or Affiliated Group, including the parents or legal guardians of any minor aged participant. 
• “Sanctioned Activity” means any game, on-ice practice, off-ice training, or any other activity involving players and Team Officials that is approved by the League or any of its Organizations, the Ontario Hockey Federation or any of its Members, or Hockey Canada or any of its Members. 
• “Team” means any group of individuals who gather for a Sanctioned Activity, including but not limited to players, Team Officials, on-ice instructors, volunteers, or Organization Officials.
• “Team Official” means a coach, assistant coach, manager, trainer, or other team official registered with the League. 
• “Vaccine-Eligible Player” means any player born in 2009 or earlier. “Volunteer” means any person registered by the League or an Organization as a volunteer.

All Affected Persons are required to be Fully Vaccinated against COVID-19 in accordance with this policy as a condition of participating in any Sanctioned Activities. As set out in more detail below, this policy does not apply to players born in 2010 or later, or to spectators, at the present time. 

Sanctioned Activities, as well as this policy, will continue to be subject to federal, provincial, and local public health regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Public health guidance on measures for fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated individuals continue to evolve and could affect this policy. 

This policy is effective immediately, with due regard for the availability of COVID-19 vaccines.

The health and safety of all Participants is the top priority of the GTHL. The purpose of this policy is to protect the health and safety of all Participants by reducing the risk of exposure to and transmission of COVID-19, an infectious communicable disease, among all persons involved in the GTHL, and to promote the health and safety of all members of the GTHL community, through vaccinations against COVID-19. 

This policy is necessary to prevent, respond to, and alleviate any outbreak of COVID-19 in the GTHL because of the significant risk factors for COVID-19 infection that are present while participating in an organized hockey setting as a player and non-player, both on and off the ice. These risk factors include close contact in predominantly indoor closed-space environments (e.g.: arenas, dressing rooms, etc.). 

The close contact nature of organized hockey makes compliance with social distancing impossible in certain circumstances and reduces the effectiveness of other infectious disease transmission protocols such as masking.

All Affected Persons are required to be Fully Vaccinated (i.e.: including the 14-day period after receiving their completed dose) by November 1, 2021. 

All Affected Persons must present to the League or their Organization, as applicable, evidence demonstrating that they have received the completed series of an Accepted COVID-19 Vaccine by October 17 or earlier.

Acceptable documents serving as evidence of COVID-19 vaccination include: 

• A digital or physical Dose Administration Receipt. 
• Medical records signed by a licensed health care provider on that provider’s letterhead indicating vaccine name and date(s) of administration.

The GTHL will comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) and provide accommodation up to the point of undue hardship to any Affected Person who is unable to be vaccinated for substantiated medical reasons and/or on grounds protected under the OHRC. 

If an Affected Person cannot provide the League or their Organization with satisfactory evidence of vaccination, the following will be taken into consideration by the GTHL: 

• The Affected Person’s reason for not being vaccinated; and 
• Documentation to substantiate a medical or protected ground reason for not being vaccinated.

Any Affected Person requiring accommodation must provide the GTHL with documentation to substantiate their reason for not being vaccinated. Where accommodation is not possible without undue hardship, the Affected Person will not be permitted to be involved in any Sanctioned Activity for the duration of the pandemic or until such time that COVID-19 no longer poses a significant public health risk. 

The GTHL reserves the right to have accommodation medical documentation reviewed by applicable medical specialists and to make appropriate inquiries to verify the authenticity of a creed/religion-based claim. 

Any Affected Person who is granted accommodation must undergo regular COVID-19 testing and must provide evidence to the President of the League or the President of the Organization, as applicable, or someone designated by that President, of a negative test taken not more than 24 hours prior to each Sanctioned Activity. They will also be required to complete an educational session.

To begin the accommodation request process, please visit this link (Link to be developed).

All documentary records about COVID-19 vaccinations and accommodations for Affected Persons will only be collected, used, retained, or disclosed by the GTHL or any of its Organizations as may be necessary for legitimate operational purposes or as directed or requested by governmental authorities or as may be required for legal purposes. 

Until no longer required, records must be held in a secure location (e.g.: a locked file cabinet). Once an Affected Person’s vaccination status has been verified and it is determined that there is no further need for retention of such records, they must be immediately destroyed in a secure manner (e.g.: shredding).

Any Affected Person who has not received their completed series of an Accepted COVID-19 Vaccine by October 17, or who has not disclosed their vaccination status by that date, will no longer be eligible to participate in any Sanctioned Activity until such time as they present satisfactory evidence that they are Fully Vaccinated.

This Section does not apply any individual who has been granted an accommodation in accordance with Section 7.

At the present time, no vaccines have been approved by Health Canada for children born in 2010 or later. However, once a vaccine has been approved, the GTHL will consider how this policy will be extended to players in those birth years

The GTHL is not extending the requirements of this policy to spectators, including the parents or guardians of players, at the present time. However, changes in the positions of authorities, including the Government of Ontario, public health authorities, Hockey Canada, and the Ontario Hockey Federation, and in numbers or severity of COVID-19 cases and/or in health guidance, may result in a vaccine mandate being imposed by GTHL notification at a later date as a condition of continued spectator involvement. 

It should also be noted that a vaccination requirement for spectators may be imposed at any time by the owners/operators of any facility used by the League or any of its Organizations or their Teams.