City of Toronto’s budget saving measures may see pool closures

by jason_cramp | January 11, 2017 3:32 pm

city_of_toronto_1 — Canadian competitive swimmer Penny Oleksiak posts to her Twitter account opposing the idea of closing pools in the city of Toronto as a way to lower the 2017 budget.

A Toronto city council debate, scheduled for Feb. 15, may decide which, if any, of the city’s pools could face possible closure as part of the 2017 budget process.

According to a CBC News report, city staff has identified 12 outdoor pools and 36 wading pools that could close, in addition to another 10 Toronto District School Board (TDSB) pools whose services could be discontinued. The city is facing a $91-million budget shortfall and it is estimated these closures would save $2 million.

[2]“What is put forward is the notion that you could save some money if you chose to modify the program offerings at some of these pools, either the number of pools or the types of programs,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said in the report. “But again, none of these things have been decided on.”

Shortly after the announcement, Toronto-born Penny Oleksiak, the 16-year-old competitive swimmer who became the first Canadian to win four medals in the same Summer Games, took to twitter to support the need to keep the pools open. In her post, she stressed the importance of swimming lessons for kids, how it saves lives, and is a good physical activity.

In response to her tweet, Mayor John Tory posted, “Gold medal message received. “I’ve asked Budget Chief Gary Crawford to find a way to save these pools.”

Endnotes:

[Image]: http://poolspamarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/City_Of_Toronto_1.jpg
[Image]: http://www.poolspas.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/City_Of_Toronto_2.jpg

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/city-of-torontos-budget-saving-measures-may-see-pool-closures/