Skate on Past Toronto Garbage Strike

It ain’t no secret that the scene in Toronto these days stinks.

But the ever-lovin’ public employees’ strike that’s stung our nostrils, junked up our parks and deprived our children of summer care since June 22 doesn’t make the entire season a wash. Indeed, necessity being the mother of invention, fantastic alternatives to city-run daycamps have surfaced spectacularly in recent weeks.

And prominent among them is my baby: the CJ Skateboard Park & School.

Demand for the CJ Skateboard Park & School summer camp has spiked dramatically in the last little bit, as frustrated parents come to accept that the city camps they signed their little darlings up for ain’t materializing. Before the strike, we were 50% full; today, we’re more than 90% sold out. Last week, we hired on another instructor to handle the demand.

The CJ Skateboard Park & School is a not-for-profit corporation that’s among the largest indoor skateboard parks in North America. We just opened this year, and the weeklong daycamps we offer (for kids aged four to 16) are our first. I call it the cheapest daycare service in the city.

And if your child hasn’t got a set of wheels, fear not. He or she (20% of our campers are girls) can rent or purchase skateboards from the park, along with safety equipment. 



So trash the garbage strike, say I, and send your kids to a camp where the confidence they’ll score from mastering the quarterpipe and the nosegrab will endure long past this city’s toxic fumes have dispersed.

Check out the camp and how to register for it at CJ Skateboard Park