Councillor Tadeson Leads Council to Prioritize Community Pool Access

On June 4, 2026, Hamilton City Council voted 8-7 to defeat a mayoral motion that would have directed staff to explore the feasibility of building a 50-metre Olympic-sized pool in Hamilton. The outcome was a direct result of Councillor Mark Tadeson's advocacy - and a significant shift from just days earlier, when the same motion passed General Issues Committee 9-1, with Tadeson as the only dissenting vote.

Councillor Tadeson made clear from the outset that his opposition wasn't about being against aquatics - it was about priorities.

He pointed out a particular whereas from the motion:

WHEREAS, access to aquatic facilities is an essential component of complete communities, supporting public health, recreation, sport development, and water safety for residents of all ages and abilities;

"Access to aquatic facilities is an essential component of complete communities," he told Council. "That (whereas) statement clearly spells out how I feel. Everything else in this motion talks about a 50-metre Olympic-size pool. This is not a priority for me."

Ward 11 residents have been asking for a community indoor pool for 47 years. Councillor Tadeson brought that reality into the chamber - including the lived experience of Glanbrook seniors who regularly leave home 90 minutes before aquafit classes start, drive up to 25 minutes into the city, and still risk not getting in if their swim bag isn't in line early enough.

"Our entire City is underserved when it comes to community pools," he said. "People around here talk about equity every day, but those people rarely consider rural recreational needs."

His argument was straightforward: before Hamilton directs finite financial resources and staff capacity toward a competitive facility with limited public access, the city needs to complete incomplete communities - pools in Glanbrook, Flamborough, and Winona, where seniors can swim and children can learn water safety year-round.

Councillor Tadeson acknowledged, "I get that an Olympic-size pool would be a nice aspirational goal - but let's build our community pools first, then renovate our existing pools that require renewal. This is the wrong priority at the wrong time."

His position ultimately persuaded enough of his colleagues to shift their votes, turning a near-unanimous committee approval into a Council defeat. Councillors Brad Clark and Maureen Wilson, among others, cited the same concern: the city's recreation master plan identifies the need for four new indoor pools by 2051, including one in Waterdown in the short term, and that work shouldn't be crowded out by a major competitive facility study.

Councillor Tadeson's position on community pools is not new. Since taking office, he has been a consistent champion for the Binbrook Community Recreation Centre and Pool — a facility Glanbrook residents have been waiting nearly 50 years to see built. That project is now scheduled for completion, a milestone Tadeson has worked toward since day one of his term.

It's that history that framed his argument at Council. When he spoke about 47 years of waiting, he wasn't speaking in abstractions.

"This motion sets the wrong priority at the wrong time. We need to teach kids in all our communities how to swim before trying to send a few to the Olympics."

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Councillor Tadeson's Statement to Council — June 3, 2026

I am supportive of the first whereas of this motion:

"Whereas access to aquatic facilities is an essential component of complete communities, supporting public health, recreation, sport development, and water safety for residents of all ages and abilities."

That statement clearly spells out how I feel.

Everything else in this motion talks about how we need a 50-metre Olympic-size pool. This is not a priority for me.

The fast-growing community where I live — Ward 11 — has been requesting a community pool for 47 years. A city priority should be to complete incomplete communities that are sorely lacking recreation facilities, starting with an indoor community pool. Hamilton needs more community pools where local seniors can go for a daytime swim or aquafit, and where children can safely learn to swim all year long — before we start worrying about sending athletes to the Olympics or hosting national events.

Does anyone here know about the wait times for seniors' aquafit at our pools? Let me share what I hear regularly. People from Glanbrook leave their homes 90 minutes before classes start, drive up to 25 minutes into the city to Huntington or Valley Park Community Pools, and arrive an hour early for a chance to put their belongings in line. If your swim bag isn't in line 30 minutes before class starts, you often don't get in. This is not hyperbole — this is the lived experience Ward 11 residents share with me regularly.

Our entire city is underserved when it comes to community pools, and people around here talk about equity every day — but those conversations rarely consider rural recreational needs.

More community pools serving rural Hamilton and nearby neighbourhoods just inside the urban boundary is the answer. Indoor pools in Flamborough, Winona, and Glanbrook need to be prioritized first, before we look at using our finite financial resources and staff capacity on an Olympic pool.

I am not lacking vision. I understand that an Olympic-size pool would be a worthwhile aspirational goal. But let's build our community pools first, then renovate our existing pools that require renewal — and once those goals are achieved, perhaps in ten years, our master plan can look to direct resources toward a competitive 50-metre pool.

An Olympic pool, no matter where it is placed — even one supported by a partnership with an institution or another jurisdiction, as this motion suggests — will not serve the needs of most Hamilton residents. Public access will be limited at best, as we would be sharing that facility with partners who may operate with restricted access only.

A long-term goal, yes. But right now, this is the wrong priority at the wrong time. Focus first on completing communities, on safety and public health — not on a pool built for competitive needs.