By Gazette Staff
October 26th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
A Burlington taxpayer who has previously written about the pool allocation decision and its impact on Burlington families and the broader sports community has some words for City Council
In material sent to a majority of the members of Council and to the city clerk – the resident said the following:
“I will not restate all the points that have been made — those details and concerns would appropriately surface through the proposed review/audit outlined in the motion.
BAD swimmers training at the Nelson pool.
“The justification for such a review begins with one unfair and misguided decision that has had serious and far-reaching consequences.
“When the RFP — a commercial process inappropriate for a community-based, not-for-profit swim club with a 40+ year legacy — was issued, swimming was the only sport subjected to that process. The RFP required proof that the not-for-profit was in good standing. When the club was notified of this, it immediately consulted the appropriate governing bodies and obtained confirmation and documentation demonstrating that it was, in fact, in good standing.
“GHAC faced the same issue but received clarification through a response to the Adult RFP. BAD, having applied only under the Youth RFP, did not receive that same clarification and was effectively ignored. As a result, their submission was never reviewed — meaning the relative merits of each club and the consequences of the decision were never properly considered.
“That single procedural failure — recognized by many as unfair — has led to the current situation and its unintended impacts on our community.
“This matter warrants a fair review. The motion is fully justified and deserves your support. It is an issue of growing concern for many Burlington residents, especially young families with children in sports.
“I strongly urge the Committee to do the right thing and support this motion.”
Will Council finally do something – they have gone mute on this since the issue first became public – and have sat on their hands as well. Mayor Meed Ward took the position that a procurement matter was something she was not allowed to talk about. On that, she is correct. The issue for the BAD swimming club is that the decision should not have been made in a procurement setting – it should have been managed as something parks and recreation does all the time.
Did she get it wrong and doesn’t know how to walk back her decision?
The Mayor seemed to be afraid to admit that the city had made a mistake.
Having lost control of the narrative, the Mayor now faces a situation where a member of Council has put a Motion on the table that asks Council to send the matter to the Audit Committee for a thorough review.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.
It will take at least four of the seven members of Council to recommend the action and send it to the audit committee.
At this point there is no certainty that Council will vote to recommend that the issue be sent to the audit committee.
If the Council decides not to recommend that the matter be sent to the audit people, there is some concern that the BAD people will be able to operate in 2026.
A 40-year legacy might leave the scene as the gurgling sound of water in a swimming pool going down the drain.
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