Fri, 03 Apr 2020
Given the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and continued need to take action to curb the spread of the virus in our community, the Town of Oakville announced today that it is cancelling all Spring recreation and culture programs, cancelling sports field and facility rentals until the end of May, and extending the closure of all town facilities.
“Public health officials are advising the town that efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 must remain strong through the coming weeks, and even months,” said Mayor Rob Burton. “The town is continuing to work closely with the province, the region and local businesses to support actions to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the community and we will reopen parks and facilities only when it is safe to do so.”
As a result of these continued closures and the town’s focus on delivering only critical services, the town also announced the difficult decision to temporarily lay off an estimated 800 part-time, casual and temporary staff effective April 6, 2020. These are temporary layoffs and staff will be brought back once recovery efforts begin.
“This was not an easy decision to make and we recognize that this will have a significant impact on the lives of our employees and their families,” said the town’s Acting CAO Jane Clohecy. “This decision reflects the very challenging impact that COVID-19 is having on our services and on our community.”
The town also confirmed that it is continuing to deliver only those critical business services that protect and support the safety of the community and vital infrastructure, as well as those services required to fulfill contractual, legal and legislative requirements.
“We are reviewing our level of services weekly and will bring back additional services as soon as it is safe and practical to do so,” added Ms. Clohecy.
For those residents already registered in Spring programs, full refunds will be provided. Customers are asked to please be patient as refunds may take up to one week to process. Registration inquiries can be sent to recreation@oakville.ca.
For more information on the actions the Town of Oakville is taking to address COVID-19 and a detailed list of the critical services we are currently providing, please visit the COVID-19 page.