No intention of closing for good, says Camp McDougall board

As it prepares to close the site early for the season, the board overseeing Camp McDougall is looking to the future on ways to prevent it from happening again.

Making the decision to close the camp early in the season has made it a very emotional week for staff, campers and parents, says Nancy Ferguson, who sits on the board of directors for the camp.

“We had to make the call because we can’t run week to week, it’s not fair to our staff who need to find summer jobs and they are students who are trying to earn money for college and university,” said Ferguson. “It’s unfair to them to add that uncertainty and stress to their lives.”

Ferguson insists plans are moving forward for the camp to operate again next year. 

“There is no intention of closing the camp for good, we weren’t even close to that. Some people have heard it differently, saying ‘it’s so sad to see it go.’ No, we haven’t closed, we just simply couldn’t open this year because of safety reasons,” she said.

“We are also going to be keeping in touch with the families who registered with us this summer to let them know what is happening so they can be confident next year that we are a go,” she added.

Ferguson was herself once a camper, a counsellor and camp staff member.

“It’s had an impact on my life and those on the board would say the same thing, and that’s why they are passionate about the camp,” she said.

As many as 40 camps across Canada have faced a similar fate this season.

“I think there is a phenomena this year that we weren’t prepared for, which was a staff shortage in key areas,” said Ferguson. “We were on shifting sands with those positions.”

Camp McDougall had a full 18 staff members committed to the 2023 season, but was forced to close as of July 9 because of the loss of five of those staff members — including a head cook and lifeguard.

Ferguson said there is a shortage of lifeguards across the country because of a backlog of certifications caused in part by COVID-19.

“We have been adjusting over the years, that’s for sure, and recognizing we needed to offer competitive wages as they rise — particularly for lifeguards — we have to match the wages they are getting at the city pools,” she said.

The board has already reached out to Sault College to see if there is an opportunity to partner with its culinary program next year to address the needs of the camp’s kitchen.

“That’s exciting. So we are taking steps for next year to make sure this does not happen again,” she said.

Ferguson said the board considered a number of scenarios before making the decision to pull the plug early on the 2023 season.

“But it kept coming back to not being able to find a lifeguard and not being able to find a cook,” she said. “Kids have to eat.”

Ferguson said the camp will not be shuttered up for the summer. Five of the staff members whose wages were covered by the Canada Summer Jobs program will work the next six weeks on visioning, promotion and eduction for an eventual reopening of the camp next year.

“But five is not enough to open the camp with our programming,” she noted. “We are, as a site, making ourselves available if somebody wants a short-term rental for an event. We always have the camp available for that, we just haven’t been able to offer it in the summer months because we run our programs.”

Memories about the camp posted on social media by past campers are helping the board to stay focused on the future.

“It has generated a lot of heart warming comments and given us a sense of how much broader the impact of the camp has been in the area,” said Ferguson. “We are hearing the generational stories and it’s giving us energy as a board and confidence, as we aim for next year, we can put together a plan and do some restructuring and try to figure out what happened this year.”