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Toronto City Council · 2025-05-21 · 2025.MM30.11

The filed record

Save Toronto’s School Pools - Councillor Josh Matlow, seconded by Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin

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The decision

2025-05-21 · Toronto City Council · adopted

As filed

City Council on May 21 and 22, 2025, adopted the following: 1. City Council request the Government of Ontario to provide funding to ensure the continued operation of school pools in Toronto District School Board facilities for student swim classes, recreational community use, and permitted activities.

On the agenda

As the city filed it

Toronto's school pools are once again at risk. Learning how to swim is an essential part of a child's education. School pools ensure that kids from all backgrounds have access to lifesaving skills they can rely on. Pools are also deeply valued by the surrounding local communities as they provide recreational opportunities for youth, seniors, and everyone in between. This is not the first time Toronto's school pools have been threatened.

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In 2008 the Toronto District School Board was forced to recommend that most school pools would close if funding from outside sources wasn't found. David Crombie, Councillors, Trustees, and parents from across the city joined to fight these cuts. In 2009 the Province, through the Ministry of Health Promotion, provided the funding needed to keep them open. That funding is unfortunately no longer available. The Toronto District School Board is projecting a significant deficit for this year and the rigid provincial funding formula does not provide money for aquatic facilities. That's why this motion requests the Government of Ontario to step in and protect these neighbourhood assets. The City should once again join with parents, students, and community members to fight to save our school pools.

Staff recommended

Councillor Josh Matlow, seconded by Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin, recommends that: 1. City Council request the Government of Ontario to provide funding to ensure the continued operation of school pools in Toronto District School Board facilities for student swim classes, recreational community use, and permitted activities.

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