Item - 2025.EC23.2

The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1. Received the report (September 2, 2025) from the Interim General Manager, Parks and Recreation for information.

Parks and Recreation is committed to improving the quality of life for Toronto residents through the provision of high-quality recreational spaces, programs and services that are welcoming, affordable, accessible and equitable for all ages and stages at:

-128 community recreation centres

- 20 enhanced youth spaces

- 41 indoor arenas

- 54 outdoor artificial ice rinks

- 64 indoor pools

- 59 outdoor pools

- 85 wading pools

- 10 supervised swimming beaches

Parks and Recreation offers high quality recreational programs and services to meet the needs of the diverse communities across the city and supports youth development and employment through certification opportunities and employment readiness programs. These include Building Skills Through Recreation and Enhanced Youth Spaces, which lead to thousands of newly employed youth into Parks and Recreation job opportunities across the city every year. 

This report outlines how Parks and Recreation Division ensures equitable access to recreational, leisure and leadership opportunities, and specifically responds to recommendation 8 under EX23.5, adopted by City Council on May 20 and 21, 2025, which requested staff to report back on:

- which swim and other programs are not covered by the existing Welcome Policy and options to make them available under the Welcome Policy; and

- whether the lack of access to programs under the Welcome Policy may have had an impact on youth not pursuing a path to lifeguarding and other jobs with City of Toronto and, if so, what measures would need to be taken to encourage youth to pursue swimming accreditation levels.

The Welcome Policy subsidy can be applied to all registered Parks and Recreation programs including but not limited to learn to swim, sports, and certification and leadership courses. Residents who do not qualify for Welcome Policy and/or continue to face financial barriers can access programs and services through other measures, as described in this report.

The Welcome Policy represents one key component under a multi-pronged approach used by Parks and Recreation to reduce financial barriers and increase access to recreation for Toronto residents. Other components include:

- Place-based subsidy at 39 Free Centres across the City of Toronto.

- Low-cost options for primary and introductory recreation programs.

- Universally subsidized free drop-in and leisure programs.

Parks and Recreation delivers a variety of programs in a growing network of recreation facilities that offer drop-in and instructional programs, swimming, camps and after-school care, seniors' activities, youth programs and spaces that foster leadership, life skills, and provide youth employment readiness and hiring opportunities. Over 1.2 million hours of recreation programs are being offered in 2025 including registered and drop-in programming opportunities.