Public Commons

Part of Wading Pool Training

Lifesaving Society Wading Pool Attendant Certification Courses

This Wading Pool Attendant course was a pre-requisite to employment at City of Toronto wading pools in 2011.

In order to attend, city recreation staff had to:

- pay $ 39 to take this course, offered on one of three days*

- attend the 4 hour course without pay.

- bring a valid Standard First Aid CPR-C Certificate with them.

The people giving the course would only accept certificates from the following bodies:

Lifesaving Society Standard First Aid

Canadian Red Cross Standard First Aid

St John's Ambulance Standard First Aid

Canadian Ski Patrol Standard First Aid

This requirement and the course description raised a number of research questions. It raised key questions, too, about who sets the priorities for how our parks are run:

1. Hiring local park staff in keeping with the priorities of local neighbourhoods

Staff training often has a fundamental impact on how staff view their jobs. Experience has shown that local parks and public amenities work best run by friendly, welcoming, park staff responsive to the neighbourhoods they serve. [link to what makes wading pools work]. It also illuminates the problems that arise when staff are trained to police park patrons [link to staff folder]

2. Given this, how does city staff find out about neighbourhood priorities when it chooses how to train parks staff?

a) What are the priorities for the different local neighbourhoods that staff serve?
b)In cases of training given for reasons of safety, how does parks management evaluate the hard data about actual, documented risks?
c)Where is this hard data publicly posted or available for public review, comment, additions, corrections, etc?
d)Where and when are management's proposals for staff training made available for community discussion?
e)Is this information being provided at least 2 months before the wading pools, rinks, and other amenities are to open?
f)If not, why not?

3. Staff training and monopolies

The Lifesaving Society (LS) is the only source for the wading pool course.

a) Who gives these courses for the LS?
b) How much does the LS make from these courses, and how much is paid to the people who give the training?
c) LS has close links with the provincial staff who regulate pools and water facilities. Is this a conflict of interest?
d) Has the city parks department given LS a monopoly?
e) If so, what is the impact of giving this monopoly?
f) If so, why is one organization given a monopoly?

4. Who really makes the rules?

In 2011, Toronto city parks management said that no one can work at city wading pools unless they first take the Wading Pool Attendant course. The Lifesaving Society insists that people who take the course have met first aid requirements required for swimming pools. But, the swimming pool regulations - passed by our elected Members of Provincial Parliament - say that wading pools are exempt from the regulations.

a)Can a charitable organization not answerable to the public contradict the decisions of our MPP's?

b)If so, what law allows this?

c)Who makes the decisions about what is necessary or required training that is not required by law?

d) Who pays for:

i) the training that our elected officials have said is unnecessary?

ii) the staff time to make internal policies around staff training which do not consider neighbourhood priorities?

iii) staff to attend conferences, trade shows and other training given by organizations which have the power to: influence policy and decisions about how our public amenities are run, and the position to benefit from these decisions?

e) How does city staff brief Council and seek approval for the budget implications about staff training not required by law?

3)Do citizens wish to give non-elected organizations - with no accountability to the public - the power both to override the decisions of elected representatives about how our public wading pools are run, and the power to decide how our tax dollars are spent?

• Article 27 of the collective agreement, in effect as of January 1 2011, says that the city must pay 100% of the cost of required re-certification for those returning staff who are past probation. A person is past probation when he or she has worked 1040 hours.

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