The city of Saguenay has decided to put an end to mixed or family changing rooms at the Foyer des Loisirs pool in Arvida, although they could be used regardless of gender during the pandemic.
“Simply because the locker rooms have regained their capacity and it is no longer necessary,” explained Saguenay City Council spokesperson Dominic Arseneau.
The sanitary measures and the distance of two meters – had caused two observations by the City Council about this pool: thus, there were more mothers than fathers who accompanied their children to open swimming or swimming class, which made that the women’s competition space is too small.
Therefore, the two spaces had become family-friendly and nudity was not tolerated in the open areas. “The father accompanying his son could go into either locker room to change in a booth and we never had any problems,” Arseneau said.
“At the same time, you have to trust the parents’ judgment. It is the same principle as in a shopping center or an airport, at a bus or train station, when a father goes to the bathroom with his child. There was no problematic situation.”
Saguenay only manages one indoor pool, that of the Foyer des Loisirs. On the other hand, I rented hours at the Cégep in Chicoutimi and at the Grandes-Marées institute in La Baie… where women and men each had their own locker room.
“People came and noticed that the situation was different from the Foyer des Loisirs, but again there was no problem,” Arseneau said.
“Now the policy will be the same everywhere.”
Saguenay has adopted a practice in case a non-binary or transgender person enters open swimming: “It’s not a matter of if, but when,” the spokesperson clarified.
“This person would probably be allowed to change in the lifeguard locker room, in complete privacy.”
The recently built indoor pools almost all have three changing rooms: one for women, one for men and one for the family.
