Parents across Ontario frustrated with lack of swimming lessons in lifeguard shortage

Lacey Miller is frustrated after her daughter's fall swimming lessons in Ottawa were abruptly cancelled this week due to a lifeguard shortage.

She said her five-year-old's swim classes were set to start soon after she secured a spot in a program last month — itself no easy task — but a call from a city staffer on Monday informed her the lessons were scrapped over a lack of qualified lifeguards.

"My child was looking forward to it. We were looking forward to it … it is frustrating," she said in an interview on Tuesday. "We just think it's a life skill. So, it's really important for kids to learn how to swim."

Several Ontario cities say they're dealing with a shortage of lifeguards, which is leading to class cancellations as well as reduced public swim times — and frustrations among affected parents like Miller.

Cities say the pandemic has contributed to the shortage because lifeguard training programs were paused after COVID-19 hit.

Dan Chenier, manager of recreation, cultural and facility services at the City of Ottawa, said the shortage there is affecting most city pools.

"The city has implemented several measures to maintain as many services as possible and is committed to bolstering training and recruitment efforts," he wrote in a statement.

Chenier said qualified supervisory staff have been filling in as lifeguards to help deal with the situation. The city is also working to train more lifeguards, he said.

Miller said there were no remaining city-run swim programs with spots available for her daughter this season. She and her husband plan to take their five-year-old to a pool on the weekends to teach her the basics of swimming themselves.

"I had already looked into private lessons and it's extremely expensive," Miller said.

"When registration opens again for the next session, which would probably be spring, we'll try it again. But there really aren't any options because everything else is just wait-listed. So we're kind of out of luck."

Miller added that she has a two-year-old daughter who remains registered in a city-run swim class that so far is still running.

Shortages elsewhere

In Toronto, the city announced Tuesday that about 540 of its fall recreation programs out of the 10,000 offered for the fall session — roughly five per cent — were being cancelled due to instructors being unavailable. The programs include learn-to-swim programs, learn-to skate, arts and fitness programs.

The city said those affected would receive a full refund and spaces in alternative programs would be offered where possible.

• Toronto cancels 5% of fall rec programs citing 'ongoing nationwide labour shortage'
• A shortage of lifeguards raises concern about the next generation of swimmers

Laura Kerr, manager of program development at Hamilton's recreation division, said the shortage of qualified lifeguards was a growing concern in Hamilton even before the pandemic. 

"The (recreation) division has been actively training and recruiting instructor guards in Hamilton since last September and will continue to do so to meet service demands," she said.

"While recreation staffing has not yet fully recovered city-wide, services such as drop-in pool programs and registered lessons have been scheduled based on staffing resources and availability."

Kerr said city staff have seen increasing demand for aquatic programs, especially swimming lessons, after two years of ongoing closures and delays.

"We are working hard to meet this demand and address program waitlists as more resources become available," she said.