North Bay council gives $200K COVID-19 bailout to YMCA

The YMCA of Northeastern Ontario is getting an emergency cash injection of nearly $200,000 from the City of North Bay.

Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to give the Y $173,000 in deficit relief and $20,000 to cover snow plowing bills, all coming from provincial pandemic funding.

The YMCA— which runs pools, gyms and runs many community programs in Sudbury and North Bay— says it has lost $3 million during the pandemic. 

North Bay councillor Mark King voted in favour of the emergency funding, but worries that this might set a precedent for other non-profits struggling to survive because of COVID-19.

"Who's next and what will the ask be and do we have the necessary funds in place to meet those needs?" King says. 

But several North Bay city councillors say they are only helping out the YMCA because of the swimming pool.

It sits on land owned by the city and has been run for decades with municipal taxdollars, currently to the tune of $350,000 per year.

City councillor Scott Robertson says if YMCA was forced to close the swimming pool, it would cost the city a lot more to replace it. 

"I'm not supporting this because of the value that the YMCA provides to the community. I'm supporting this because it's a municipally-owned asset that we're trying to protect," he says.

North Bay city council heard that due to budget troubles YMCA pools in Windsor, Barrie, Parry Sound and other cities have not re-opened since the start of the pandemic eight months ago.