OTTAWA -- The City of Ottawa says it is cancelling its planned summer camps amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are plans to introduce new summer programs soon.

In a statement, the City says the planned programs, set to run from June 29 to August 28, will be replaced with new programs that are reformatted around pandemic health measures. Information on when they will take place is coming later.

The City says the new summer camp programs will follow physical distancing guidelines and emergency orders under the direction of the Province of Ontario.

Safety measures will include:

  • Smaller camp groups
  • Additional staff to assist with maintaining physical distancing requirements and sanitization
  • Screening protocols for campers and staff 

The City says any parents or guardians who have already registered for a summer camp program will have their registration automatically cancelled and a credit will be applied to their account. Post-dated cheques will be returned and unprocessed credit card payments will be cancelled. A full refund can be requested on Ottawa.ca