Aquatic Centre loses 12 volunteers
Debate over whether volunteers resigned or not makes waves in Iqaluit
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, June 26, 2017
IQALUIT
The Iqaluit Aquatic Centre is lighter by 12 volunteer fitness instructors after an apparent communication breakdown.
Svetlana Tumilty says volunteer fitness instructors are devastated by City of Iqaluit's actions. - Michele LeTourneau/NNSL photo
The Iqaluit Aquatic Centre lost 12 volunteer instructors in June. The instructors say they just want to resolve ongoing issues, while the City of Iqaluit, which operates the facility, says the volunteers resigned. - Michele LeTourneau/NNSL photo
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Svetlana Tumilty, speaking for the group, says the volunteer instructors did not resign, while the City of Iqaluit, which operates the facility, says they did.
Tumilty cites concerns volunteers wanted to discuss with the recreation director or another appropriate representative from the city, including equipment and participant safety, scheduling issues, possible insurance issues and matters involving paid and included programs.
Tumilty explained that according to the city, 40 per cent of programs must be paid programs over and above the facility pass fees, while 60 per cent are included in the pass fee.
"We wanted a revised volunteer arrangement," said Tumilty, who has been a volunteer instructor for years and made the shift from the volunteer-run Atii Fitness Society to the city facility.
On May 29, a hard copy of a letter signed by all 12 advising the city of these points was delivered. Tumilty says they asked the city to get back to them by the end of two weeks. Nunavut News/North has not seen that letter - the group declined to share it.
"We were hoping (the response) would be an invitation to sit down and start working on these programs," she said, but the two-week deadline came and went.
"We did not say, 'Oh, we don't like it, we're going to resign tomorrow.' There was no expectation that it would come to our actually not teaching."
And, yet, that's what it's come to. On June 20, volunteer Janine Budgell posted a Facebook message to Iqaluit Public Service Announcements informing the public of the situation.
"You may have heard that the volunteer instructors at the Aquatic Centre resigned. For clarification we did not. We were resigned," she wrote. "We love teaching inclusive and safe programming to the residents of the city of Iqaluit and remain committed to volunteering to teach fitness classes. We are hopeful to have the opportunity to teach in the future."
That thread, which included positive and negative comments, has since been deleted by the page administrator.
Meanwhile, the City of Iqaluit is steadfast in its assertion the volunteers resigned.
"The city accepted the resignation tendered by the volunteers," wrote communications manager Andrea Spitzer in an email. She added the city does not discuss personnel issues, as they are considered confidential, and thanked the volunteers for their time and effort. She stated the Aquatic Centre will be running fitness classes with current staff, and the majority of fitness classes will continue, especially those with the highest participant numbers. She advised that the city is always open and receptive to constructive feedback and suggested any program participants effected can contact guest services.
"Unfortunately we are not in a position to redesign programming on the demands from a volunteer group," stated acting mayor Romeyn Stevenson in a June 23 letter responding to volunteers.
He explained that the Chief Administrative Officer would investigate further with the Health and Safety committee and that the facility had been inspected by the Nunavut Health Department and the Workers Safety and Compensation Commission. He added that the director of recreation would review the staff requirements at the pool.
For the volunteer fitness instructors, Tumilty says there have been sleepless nights and tears.
"It was devastating," she said. "There are tremendous success stories, participants reporting losing weight, gaining strength."
But Tumilty said the 12 volunteers do "see a way forward."
"We would like to talk it out, come up with an improved volunteer agreement - and let us teach," she said. "We want to teach. Our participants want us to come back and teach."
The instructors have decided to offer outdoor programs and pop-up classes, such as outdoor boot camp, in the meantime.
"The instructors can't sit idle," said Tumilty. "And if people feel like donating funds for the instructors, we will turn these funds over to REACH (the fundraising arms of the Aquatic Centre) or the children's fund at the Aquatic Centre."
