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"From Friday, June 17, to Monday, September 5, 2022, lifeguards will be on duty from 10 a.m. The National Capital Commission is also having trouble staffing public beaches. "The wages have not been competitive for youth." "It takes time to be a lifeguard you need to learn to swim, you need to do all the training, it’s a lot of money, then you get the same wages as working in a retail environment," Fleury said. Mathieu Fleury, who was a lifeguard, part of the shortage is caused by the low wages paid to lifeguards and the expense of becoming qualified. "I’m concerned those kids that will still be in the water, don’t have the skills they need, but would have learned if they had taken lessons."Īccording to Coun. "It is the time of year when most people are around the water and sadly the greatest number of drownings happen in the month of July," Byers said. Barbara Byers, a Senior Research Officer for the society says people not being able to access swimming classes or not being supervised by lifeguards can put them at risk. The Lifesaving Society of Ontario is marking national drowning prevention week, starting Monday.
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This potentially leaves hundreds of people who don’t know how to swim, out of luck this summer. "In most cases, we have had to reduce the capacity or we have had to cancel the swim completely." We don’t like to cancel any classes, so we are making our best efforts to find staff," Fournier said.
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"We have had to make modifications to swims due to staff shortages. Patrick Fournier, Portfolio Manager at Ottawa’s Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex in Orleans says, of the 5,000 classes planned this season, so far only 50 learn to swim classes have been cancelled. With temperatures heading towards record highs this week, public beaches and pools are a popular way to cool off, but many facilities in the city of Ottawa are facing a shortage of lifeguards, forcing some to reduce hours and cancel swimming classes.
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