Will Toronto’s fun summer programs stick around as COVID restrictions ease?
The City of Toronto implemented a number of summer programs over the past two years since the pandemic started in 2020.
Despite COVID-19 restrictions rolling away, many of them are here to stay.
CTV News Toronto has compiled a list of which programs will return for another year.
CaféTO
The CaféTO program, which allowed for restaurant and bar operators to expand their outdoor dining spaces onto curb lanes and sidewalks, started up to provide a safer option amid the pandemic and to help struggling businesses cope with COVID-19 closures.
Last November, Toronto council voted in favour of making the CafeTO program a permanent fixture of city life starting in 2023. The program was also revived for summer 2022, and the city asked bars, restaurants and cafes to start registering in January to expedite the application and permitting process.
Summer CampTO
For the third straight year, the City of Toronto is offering its in-person summer day camp programs. However, the big change this year will be the absence of COVID-19 restrictions. This program will run from July 4 to Sept. 2 and will be open to children and youth between the ages of four and 16.
ActiveTO
ActiveTO will continue in some form into 2022. The city says it will continue to expand Toronto's cycling network and close major roads to traffic so that people in the city have access to more recreation space on weekends. The city told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday that more details would be announced soon about the program.
Outdoor recreation programs
Amid the pandemic, The City of Toronto came up with a couple of initiatives to provide free outdoor programs in parks for children and youth in Toronto, including the ParksPlayTO program for children aged 12 and younger and the Summer is the 6IX program for youth aged 13 to 24.
On Tuesday, the city said the programs are not yet scheduled for 2022, but information about the programs will be available in the “near future.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Israel says it reopened a key Gaza crossing after a rocket attack but the UN says no aid has entered
The Israeli military said Wednesday that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, a key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid that was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby.