Town Statement on Summer Camps Registration

Official Town Statement Regarding Internal Error During Summer Camps Registration

The Town is aware of a staff error made during our Summer Camps programs registration and we apologize to residents who were affected by this.

After conducting an investigation, we found that there was an error made by a staff member who was simply trying to assist residents with their registration. Registrations were processed at approximately 8:55 am, five minutes ahead of the official registration opening.

Although this should have never happened, and we take accountability for the error, our staff was merely trying to assist a customer, with whom they have no personal connection. “We would like to make it clear that our staff, at the Leisure Centre and across the municipality, are expected to (and do) conduct business in an ethical and respectful manner. We believe that this staff made an honest mistake and did not process this registration with maleficence.” – Mayor James Leduc

Staff have also remained responsive to and honest with residents regarding this error and are not withholding information.

The residents who got early registration kept their spots as this was an internal error. We honoured their spot in good faith, but will not allow this to happen in the future. To account for the error, our staff accommodated the programming requests of the residents on the waiting list for the impacted programs.

We understand these are competitive programs to register for and there are many frustrated parents out there regarding this situation and the limited spots. The root of our programming issue is that we do not have enough program staff (recreation, summer camp, and aquatics). Although we are diligently working on recruitment for these positions, it continues to be a challenge post-COVID and is an industry-wide issue. We also have a legal obligation to maintain a child-to-supervisor ratio and therefore cannot guarantee either larger camp sizes or more camps (or both) at the beginning of the registration season. Rather, at the onset of registration, we have enough spots available for which we can guarantee staff. As we hire additional Camp Counselors, we will work through the summer camp wait list, in chronological order, and add those registrants to our program.

We are diligently working to recruit and hire Camp Counselors in order to accommodate our residents on the wait list.

Please visit www.townofbwg.com/careers for more details.