Amid official silence, social media shows chiefs at World Series

City Hall hasn’t confirmed which days they worked at the Rogers Centre, but posts appear to show Jim Jessop and Myron Demkiw in a private box

Published May 07, 2026  •  Last updated 20 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

While city officials have yet to provide specifics about the duties and days worked by TFS Chief Jim Jessop, left, 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. Photo by Jim Jessop via X

Social media posts appear to show Toronto’s police and fire chiefs arm in arm in a private box before Game 1 of the 2025 World Series – despite the fact their representatives have yet to confirm which recent high-profile dates the men worked at the Rogers Centre.

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While a number of emergency response executives were at the venue during the World Series, city representatives have yet to specify what their duties were.

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The Toronto Sun, after a freedom-of-information request, confirmed that executive-level employees with Toronto Paramedics Services and the city’s emergency management division worked at the Rogers Centre during the World Series and 2024’s Taylor Swift concert series – but at no other point in the last two years.

Toronto Police Services and Toronto Fire Services, however, have yet to confirm which of their executive-level staff were at the baseball venue, and on which dates.

TFS in an emailed statement said Chief Jim Jessop “was at the stadium” but has argued that the duties of the chief and his deputy chiefs mean their presence at the Rogers Centre would fall outside of the Sun’s freedom-of-information request.

TFS added that it doesn’t have a “specific list of dates” that Jessop was at the venue, although one had been requested by the Sun months before. Toronto Fire has ignored subsequent requests for clarification, including about the presence of deputy chiefs.

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Toronto Police, meanwhile, have yet to respond to either the Sun’s freedom-of-information request or a list of related questions. Under provincial law, TPS was required to respond to the freedom-of-information request by March.

But Chief Myron Demkiw being inside the Rogers Centre at points during the Swift shows and the World Series is no secret.

In a post on social media platform X, the Toronto Police Service said Chief Myron Demkiw and officers met concertgoers before the first concert in Taylor Swift’s 2024 series at the Rogers Centre. Photo by Toronto Police via X

Social media presence

Posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, appear to show the chief meeting concertgoers on Nov. 14, 2024, and arm in arm with Jessop on Oct. 24, 2025. And in a video posted before Game 6 on Oct. 31, 2025, Demkiw is seen in a number of rooms in the stadium – one of them a private box with prepared food on the counter.

Judging by the view of the field, photos posted to social media of Demkiw with Jessop appear to have been taken at the balcony seating of that private box.

Sources familiar with the emergency responders’ operations at the Rogers Centre have told the Sun that Jessop was in a private box during some of the dates in question, at times alongside Joanna Beaven-Desjardins, the city’s emergency management boss. City Hall has confirmed that Beaven-Desjardins attended the stadium on the dates of four Swift concerts – which took place before Jessop’s promotion to fire chief – and games 6 and 7 of the World Series.

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The Blue Jays, which look after the stadium as the primary tenant and are, like the venue, owned by Rogers, have yet to respond to questions from the Sun.

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The City of Toronto has declined to answer most questions from the Sun about why emergency response executives were in the Rogers Centre, if such an arrangement would’ve broken any rules, and if those executives would’ve been eligible for paid duty or overtime.

Instead, representatives have emphasized that the city follows a set of provincial protocols called the Incident Management System to handle large events.

Those protocols say that large events should be handled by a single “incident commander,” and emergency operations may be directed from a remote location. It’s not clear who served as an incident commander during the Swift concerts or World Series, or which emergency execs are eligible for that role.

In this image taken from a video posted to social media, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw enters a private box before a World Series game in October. The view of the field in this clip suggests Demkiw posed for a photo with Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop in this same private box. Photo by Toronto Police via X

Violation of the ethical obligations?

If neither municipal employees nor City Hall paid for the food, drinks or venue access enjoyed at the Rogers Centre, that’s potentially a violation of the ethical obligations held by members of the public service. Interestingly, Jessop sent out a memo about the city’s public service bylaw on Dec. 2, 2025 – a month after the World Series.

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While TFS did not confirm the existence of the memo, a copy was leaked to the Sun. It states city staff “may not accept gifts, rewards, advantages or benefits of any kind from individuals or organizations that could influence, or even appear to influence, the performance of their duties.”

Toronto Police were also asked about potential conflicts of interest, including whether they were compensated for special services provided at the big-ticket events, such as a much publicized motorcade for Swift that briefly closed the Gardiner Expressway. The Sun has yet to receive a response.

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