'Full, full, full': parents left frustrated over lack of swimming lesson spots
'Full, full, full': parents left frustrated over lack of swimming lesson spots
Frustrated and left with few options – that's how many Winnipeg parents were feeling Tuesday after they couldn't get their kids into swimming lessons.
It was Winnipeg's leisure guide signup Tuesday morning, however, several parents took to social media to vent over a lack of swimming lesson spots.
"Full, full, full – all my options were full," said Lindsay Primmer, a mother of three. "I went basically back to scratch to everything on every single class and that was at 8:03 (a.m.)"
Primmer said even with multiple backup choices, all three of her kids under nine were shut out in three minutes.
"It's a life skill, I'm really concerned," Primmer said. "I have children that don't know how to swim."
Community services committee chair Coun. John Orlikow said there is still a shortage of lifeguards and instructors leading to fewer spots – a hangover from the pandemic.
"As we reopened, we quickly realized a lot of those lifeguards weren't coming back," Orlikow said.
He said many lifeguards found other jobs during pandemic lockdowns and layoffs. This also led to a shortage of swimming spaces last year and wading pool closures.
With federal money, the city is paying for training costs to boost the number of lifeguards, which was identified as a financial barrier.
Orlikow says around 70 new applicants are currently being trained.
Getting those people back in is going to take us a little time, so we ask for a little patience," Orlikow said. "But we are working as best we can to get those positions filled."
Lifesaving Society Manitoba said this is a North America-wide problem. The society is still trying to play catch up, as prior to the pandemic it trained 1,000 lifeguards and instructors annually.
"Those numbers just nosedived during the pandemic," said Christopher Love, the water smart and safety coordinator with the society, adding in 2022, they had about 900.
While the city shores up staff, there are private options for parents. However, those are more expensive.
"I don't have a few hundred dollars to spend on my children to teach them to swim," Primmer said.
On Tuesday, the city's executive policy committee voted on a budget amendment to add $150,000 for lifeguard recruitment and retention.
In a statement to CTV News, the city said there are currently 1,057 swimming lesson courses being offered this spring.
"In comparison, there were 2,118 courses completed in Spring 2019, 1,500 offered in Fall 2022, and 1,340 offered in Winter 2023," a spokesperson with the city said.
A graph showing the number of available swimming lessons in Winnipeg from Spring 2019 to Spring 2023
The city said 84 per cent of swimming lessons have been filled for spring 2023 and people are encouraged to still sign up for the lessons that are left.
The city also noted there are 255 instructors employed right now, with the goal to get up to 300 before summer operations.
"We continue to actively recruit, and every effort is being made to fill vacancies as quickly as possible. It’s anticipated that it will still take some time to return to full staffing levels and the restoration of services."
The prosecutor leading an investigation into a horrific knife attack in a French Alpine town says four children aged between 22 months and 3 years suffered life-threatening wounds and that two adults also were injured.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
The battle against hundreds of wildfires continues, as almost every jurisdiction in Canada remains under either heat or air quality warnings from the federal government. The day after what was supposed to be national Clean Air Day, dozens of alerts remain in place for unseasonable heat or smoky air quality.
Norwegian officials said the smoke from Canadian wildfires that has enveloped parts of the U.S. and Canada in a thick haze is expected to pour into Norway on Thursday.
Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
The man who was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five people at a house party in Brentwood more than nine years ago is seeking more freedoms.
Flooded underpasses have been a common occurrence in Regina this spring with several thunderstorms dumping heavy rain on the city, but Mayor Sandra Masters says several solutions are in the works to help prevent further flooding.
Regina city council has asked its administration to pursue permission from the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) to increase its debt limit to $780 million.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
Romance scams have always been around, but they got worse during the pandemic, and fraudsters continue to use social media and dating sites to find victims.
Drivers are being asked to find another way or prepare for delays on the Henday this weekend, because crews need to close a bridge over the North Saskatchewan River.
The Archdiocese of Edmonton will spend $3.2 million on reconciliation initiatives with First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in the Alberta capital region.
Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass said he's "in a better place moving forward" after speaking with Pride Toronto's executive director in the wake of his social media post that supported anti-2SLGBTQ+ boycotts.
Calgary city council has reconsidered its decision to vote against recommendations made by an expert panel to address the city’s housing affordability crisis.
Police say a man on a mobility scooter has life-altering injuries after he was struck by a vehicle in a northeast Calgary intersection on Wednesday evening.
An Ontario man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, after she was gunned down at the wheel of her car in Montreal last month.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
The man in the spotlight during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, Dr. Horacio Arruda, has been appointed assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Smoke and haze from wildfires cleared over Ottawa-Gatineau on Thursday, allowing outdoor recreational programming and activities to resume. Officials warm the smoke and haze could return on Friday afternoon.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board says home sales were up six per cent in May 2023 compared to a year prior, marking the first year-over-year unit sales volume increase since early last year.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
The Halifax Regional Municipality says it will announce Thursday when more residents can return to their homes in communities impacted by the Tantallon wildfires.
Irving Oil says it’s undertaking a “strategic review” with an eye to its future. In a release Wednesday, the company says it’s looking at a number of options, including the sale of its assets.
There's high levels of air pollution in Waterloo region and Wellington County as smoke plumes from wildfires burning in Quebec and northeastern Ontario continue to blow into the region, Environment Canada says.
Kitchener is hosting a series of watch parties to cheer on basketball star Jamal Murray as his Denver Nuggets take on the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
A human-caused wildfire on the Lower Mainland has grown to an estimated 800 hectares and continues to burn out of control Wednesday, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
Rental housing advocates interrupted an announcement by B.C.'s housing minister in Vancouver Wednesday morning to object to the provincial government's response to the affordability crisis.
There's no end in sight for the closure of Highway 4 on Vancouver Island – the only highway leading to the communities of Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet – due to a wildfire burning in the area.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre has seen an increase in women, trans and gender-diverse survivors seeking support after experiencing sexualized violence.
A busload of high school students were finally heading home to Nanaimo on Wednesday after they were stranded by a raging wildfire that forced them to spend the night inside a Port Alberni high school.
A graph showing the number of available swimming lessons in Winnipeg from Spring 2019 to Spring 2023
