Teen Lifeguard Fights for Equal Pay

During a recent Gravenhurst City Council meeting, a lifeguard brought forward their concerns about unfair wages for its lifeguards.

Regan Tucker is a seventeen-year-old lifeguard at Gull Lake, one of the many beautiful lakes in the Muskoka Region. Regan came before Gravenhurst City Council not only as a lifeguard but as a concerned citizen to discuss the unfair wages and working conditions for lifeguards in the municipality.

Tucker mentioned their low pay of less than 60 cents above minimum wage which is $16.55 an hour compared to the parks crew whose wages start at $18.12 an hour. She also compared their low wages to the broader Muskoka Region where lifeguards get paid upwards of $18.50 an hour.

Not only are their wages low, but Tucker explains that the town’s water is constantly under advisory for E. Coli while the lifeguards put their lives on the line for those who continue to swim in the water.

“The water is under advisory most of the time,” says Tucker. “The health unit doesn’t advise swimming, but we still guard those swimmers that are there. We put ourselves at risk.”

The lifeguards working at Gull Lake also need to pay for their own training.

The city council also heard grievances from the Thursday Night Old Timers Hockey League which has come before Gravenhurst City Council multiple times to hash out the municipality's restrictions on their ice time.

District Councilor Peter Johnston urged his fellow councillors to work with the League on creative solutions so they do not need to continue to appear before the council.