Dear Neighbours,
On May 7, 2018 the Ministry of Infrastructure Ontario publically announced its pledge of $3.3M towards a proposed $10M Sorauren Park Aquatic Centre. The Friends of Sorauren Park (FOSP) had submitted a proposal in March 2018 to access a new culture and recreation funding stream made available through a tri-lateral program between the Federal and Provincial governments and the City of Toronto.
The proposed Sorauren Park Aquatic Centre was to feature a multi-lane, 25-metre lap pool, a leisure pool, a spa / therapeutic pool and gender neutral changing rooms which would have allowed full accessibility for all patrons – similar in scope as the Regent Park Aquatic Centre currently in operation on the east side of the city.
Our objective for seeking funding was to ensure the Wabash Community Centre, whose $40M budget was approved by the City of Toronto in its 2017 capital budget, would be sufficiently funded to include public swimming facilities.
Weeks after the recent provincial election, the FOSP was informed via a phone call from an official at the Department of Infrastructure Ontario, that the funding for the Sorauren Park Aquatic Centre had now been cancelled due to the changing budget priorities of the government.
To be clear, this decision does not affect the in-progress development of the Wabash Community Centre which the City of Toronto is set to move to the preliminary design phase in early 2019, with shovels in the ground planned for 2020 and doors opening as early as 2022. The City’s Facilities Master Plan, released in 2017, called for pool facilities at the Wabash Community Centre.
In our continued conversations with federal government representatives, there continues to be a commitment by them to prioritize support for some funding that could contribute to enhancing the Wabash Community Centre.
We will keep you updated as to any further developments.
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Holiday season.
Regards,
Joel Campbell, President
Board of Directors
Friends of Sorauren Park
Wabash Community Centre 
Thanks for this update, Joël. The new provincial government has cut so many infrastructure project funding it is hard to keep track. Very disappointing. However, we will move in to see what can be done! Hope to see you Thursday but if not I wish you and your family a splendid and love-filled holiday. Cheers.