Small business owner running for Richmond Hill council caught up in COVID-19 vaccine misinformation controversy

'I refuse to discriminate against anybody for any reason,' Ward 2 candidate Yehuda Goldberg says

Thestar.com
Aug. 8, 2022
Sheila Wang

With the municipal election two months away, a newly registered candidate has caused a stir in the Richmond Hill community as a social media post from last year with COVID-19 vaccine misinformation resurfaced online.

Richmond Hill resident Yehuda Goldberg, who is the owner of Brothers Butcher Shoppe in Vaughan, has been facing criticism over a statement he posted on Instagram last May in which he asked those who’ve been vaccinated to order curbside pickup or delivery for 28 days after being vaccinated.

In an interview with the Liberal, Goldberg said he has “never denied anyone” entry into his business and that his social media post was not a COVID-19 policy but rather a recommendation.

“I refuse to discriminate against anybody for any reason. That includes whether you're vaccinated or not. It's none of my business,” Goldberg said.

In the post made on May 1, 2021 on the Instagram account for Brothers Butcher -- which currently has more than 6,000 followers -- Goldberg wrote he made the decision about the COVID-19 vaccinations “after reading the effects of side effects for those that are around people who have been vaccinated as described by Pfizer in their study trials and after consulting a doctor.”

On the same day, he also posted a 14-minute-long video in which he talked about the “adverse effect” while preparing chicken in his store, which sells all organic, grass fed and locally sourced meat since 2016.

“While it's interesting that it doesn't really openly say, from what I read, that viral shedding happens, it insinuates, it does …" Goldberg said in the video.

Claims about COVID-19 vaccine shedding began spreading last April and have been debunked many times, which experts consider a conspiracy intended to undermine the vaccines.

“Whether or not it's been labelled as misinformation is still debatable,” Goldberg told the Liberal on Aug. 3. “You can go a lot deeper to see who on both sides of that information is correct. And again, I respect anyone who believes one way or the other.”

His posts about COVID-19 vaccines from last year have regained attention after the father of two recently announced his plan to run for Richmond Hill council on nextdoor.ca, an online social networking service for neighbourhoods.

Records show that Goldberg registered to run on July 28 in Ward 2 where three other candidates have registered, as of Aug. 4, including the incumbent Tom Muench.

Goldberg previously ran unsuccessfully in the last provincial election as a New Blue Party candidate for St. Paul’s in Toronto.

“We’re trying to get to a better place in this world right now with all this COVID stuff. I think he’s 100 per cent wrong in posting that because science approves the other way,” longtime Richmond Hill resident Jack Ponte said.

Ponte -- who is not a Ward 2 resident but says he personally knows the candidate -- is among those who have posted questions about Goldberg’s stance on the vaccines on Nextdoor.ca.

“ ... I'm just trying to get the candidates to win that are better for the city,” Ponte said. "As far as honesty and integrity that he's promoting, I don't think that's something that he will deliver on."

When asked if his views about the vaccines have since changed, Goldberg said the vaccines are federal and provincial issues, not municipal.

“My stance always has been and always will be that it’s your decision,” he said, noting he always follows provincial recommendations.

The website of the Government of Ontariostates that “getting vaccinated and staying up to date with yourCOVID-19 vaccines is the best way to protect yourself, your loved onesand our communities from severe outcomes from COVID-19 and itsvariants.”

Resurfacing along with Goldberg’s social media posts from last year was an article published by NBC News May 14, 2021 in which the Richmond Hill resident was interviewed about the vaccination policy he put in place for his business, which he now says was a recommendation.

In a story titled: “Distancing from the vaccinated: Viral anti-vaccine infertility misinfo reaches new extremes,” Goldberg was cited saying he read evidence that just being around those vaccinated can cause reproductive health issues for women.

Goldberg told the Liberal the NBC News article was not based on facts and did not report what they spoke about.

Having no regret in what he posted about COVID-19 vaccines last year, the candidate said “he stands by everything I do for a reason because everything I do is to serve the community.”

The City of Richmond Hill currently requires all employees and volunteers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This policy does not apply to members of council.

When asked about his position on this policy, if elected, Goldberg said "I do not support discrimination of any kind. That includes vaccines."

What Goldberg had posted shows he "doesn't believe in vaccination," and was against advice from public health and the government, resident Ponte said, noting "I don't think he's the one who would bring honesty and integrity to the political system in Richmond Hill."

After opening Brothers Butcher Shoppe in Vaughan in 2016, Goldberg said he also runs a private public health unit Stone Throw Health to help people see a practitioner in 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours in hospitals.

"People can say what they want. But the reality is that my record speaks for itself," the candidate said.