This article was first published by TorontoToday, a Village Media publication.
Organizers of the FIFA Men's World Cup have asked the province to arrange for "priority access to hospital care for players and VIPs" during the summer 2026 games in Toronto.
The request, which was revealed in documents obtained by TorontoToday under access to information laws, was mentioned in Ministry of Health briefing slides in January 2024.
The slides were created by the ministry’s health system emergency management branch and are aligned with FIFA-identified requirements for the Toronto games. The information was first released to The Trillium.
A spokesperson for the health minister’s office, Hannah Jensen, said the priority access is only a request from FIFA and is not a commitment from the Ministry of Health.
"Throughout FIFA, and beyond, our government will work with our healthcare partners to ensure they have the tools they need to deliver high-quality care for Ontarians, spectators and players," Jensen said.
Jensen did not specify what exactly “priority access” would entail.
She did not respond to follow up questions about whether the province plans to accommodate the request.
However, the FIFA documents frame the issue as a "requirement" and explain that "these responsibilities will be met" by FIFA, the stadium, Toronto or the province.
FIFA and the City of Toronto's FIFA Secretariat both referred questions on the issue to the Ministry of Health.
University of Toronto bioethicist Kerry Bowman called FIFA’s priority health care requirement "very disturbing and ethically problematic."
"Giving priority to VIPs in Canada is absolutely out of the question. It cannot be done. It's unethical,” Bowman said. "Does it happen? Yes. And do they often get away with it? Yes, but it is very problematic."
In a busy hospital, Bowman said patients' needs should not be unfairly prioritized by occupation or social status. Instead, he argued health care should be prioritized by medical need.
"We have a universal health care system and it needs to be fair and it needs to be transparent,” he said.
Bowman said when medical attention is shifted to prioritize a VIP, “you're taking resources away from another person.”
If doctors are forced to shift their schedules to provide care to VIPs, despite the level of medical need, Bowman said there will be problems for other patients awaiting treatment.
Several of Toronto’s hospitals, including St. Joseph's and St. Michael's (owned by Unity Health) and Toronto General and Toronto Western (operated by the University Health Network) referred questions to the Ministry of Health. Mount Sinai Hospital did not respond to questions.
But it’s not just actual doctor-patient health care that could be impacted by FIFA’s priority access during the summer games, Bowman said. The city’s downtown hospitals are also a teaching setting for medical students.
"When you allow VIP thinking to creep in, if we're talking about Toronto hospitals, they're all teaching hospitals, and you're setting a horrible example for a whole new generation of health care workers, which you may have a hard time undoing," he argued.
Under a section in the FIFA document entitled "anticipated key risks," the health ministry said the Toronto games coincide with traditional dates for major Pride events in late June.
The listed risks include "fan violence" and "risks relating to co-occurrence with other events," with Pride being the only major co-occurring event.
There will be six FIFA games played in Toronto beginning on June 12, with a final match scheduled for July 2.
TorontoToday asked Toronto Pride if it could provide a 2026 schedule but has yet to receive a response.
The city's host agreement with FIFA is being kept partly secret. Earlier this year, Village Media obtained a copy under freedom of information laws. However, it was redacted in parts.
Village Media has an appeal in progress with Ontario's information and privacy commissioner to release an uncensored copy of the document on public interest grounds.
The City has taken a position that the whole document should be released, but FIFA is objecting. The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has yet to make a decision.
