Letter to Councillor Ford and Dr. de Villa

April 8, 2021
April 6, 2021
Re: On-Site Vaccination Clinic at Woodbine for Agricultural Workers
Dear Councillor Ford and Dr. de Villa,
On behalf of Woodbine Entertainment and the members of Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association in Ontario, thank you for the time and attention you provided us over the past couple of weeks.
With the start of our season fast approaching, our focus remains on being permitted to safely operate live horse racing during the province-wide ‘emergency brake’ shutdown and/or a ‘Grey’ Lockdown situation.
To that end, we are seeking the assistance of Toronto Public Health in securing an on-site ‘pop-up’ COVID-19 vaccination clinic on our property for the vaccination of approximately 1,000 agricultural workers who are essential personnel that provide the necessary care and training of more than 1,200 horses stabled at Woodbine. These agricultural workers qualify in Phase 2 of the Government of Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan as essential frontline workers who cannot work remotely.
This ‘pop-up’ vaccination clinic would provide our essential personnel with a very convenient and accessible opportunity to be vaccinated and would further safeguard our operations and community from a COVID-19 outbreak.
We would be willing to provide the Government of Ontario and Toronto Public Health with any resources or assistance required to execute the vaccination clinic.
By offering an on-site vaccination clinic to our agricultural personnel, in addition to our stringent COVID-19 Prevention Protocols which you have already reviewed, we hope that we would satisfy any health and safety concerns Toronto Public Health and the Government of Ontario might have and thus be permitted to safely operate live racing commencing on Saturday, April 17.
We would welcome an opportunity to discuss this request with you at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Jim Lawson
CEO President
Woodbine Entertainment
Sue Leslie Horsemen’s Benevolent Protective Association of Ontario (HBPA)