Staff shortages could affect Edmonton pool hours, capacity limits: city
A province-wide labour shortage among lifeguards and swim instructors could make it harder to enjoy Edmonton's outdoor pools, according to the city.
Swimmers lined up outside Queen Elizabeth Pool before 6 a.m. Wednesday, eagerly awaiting the official start of outdoor swim season.
"We have such a short season, but being able to swim with the smell of the trees in the Kinsman, it's a real treat," said one swimmer.
"We swim indoors all winter and it's just a treat to get outside," said another.
The city said that summer treat may be limited this year as pools deal with staff shortages.
"With the pandemic, we just weren't getting people through the courses so there wasn't a large pool of people to draw from," said City of Edmonton Operations Supervisor Shauna Graham.
According to the Lifesaving Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, Alberta is short 600 lifeguards. That impact is being felt across the province, said CEO Kelly Carter.
"What we are seeing is the impact more in rural Alberta, a lot more than urban Alberta, and of course those employers paying higher wages are attracting lifeguards a little bit easier," he said.
Certification requires about 110 hours of training and must be renewed every two years. That training takes about six months to a year in a condensed format, according to Carter.
"If we don't have lifeguards, obviously it impacts the accessibility for lane swims, for recreational opportunities and even for swimming lessons. And that contributes to the overall community health," he said.
The shortages are forcing pools across the province to make difficult decisions about hours and resources.
"We've been limiting how many people can swim so we can stay within the swimmer to lifeguard ratio. And there has been the odd day we have to shut early or open later," said Jamie Platz Family YMCA General Manager Heather Scherer.
The ratio of lifeguards to swimmers at YMCA locations is one lifeguard per 40 swimmers, said Scherer.
She added that across the four Edmonton locations, the YMCA is short about 100 staff members.
To help with the backlog, the YMCA is calling for support to cover the cost of training, which ranges from $700 to $1,500.
"If there were more grants out there to get more employees skilled, that would be amazing. The YMCA is a registered not-for-profit charity so we even do subsidize our members," said Scherer.
A spokesperson for the ministry of labour says prospective lifeguards can apply to two job grant programs (Canada-Alberta Job Grant and Transition to Employment Services) to cover part or all of their training.
Information on eligibility and how to apply is available online.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Chelan Skulski.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.