British ColumbiaPrince George city council held a heated debate over the future of the community’s two public pools on Monday, as the Aquatic Centre is set to undergo an extended shutdown for repairs.Mayor Simon Yu still believes extended closure is a mistakeAndrew Kurjata · CBC News · Posted: Dec 03, 2025 12:39 AM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Prince George, B.C., mayor Simon Yu failed in his attempt to get the city to reconsider a plan to close down the city’s aquatic centre for more than two years for renovations and repairs. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC)The City of Prince George has approved the purchase of new diving platforms for its downtown pool in an attempt to offset the impact of a planned two-year closure of its Aquatic Centre.The city says the extended closure is needed to extend the lifespan of the facility and that a plan is in place to redirect programs to the downtown Canfor Leisure Pool.However, some in the community — including the city’s mayor — worry it still won’t make up for the loss of pool time for swimmers in the city.Mayor Simon Yu attempted to reopen the debate on the closure, set to begin in January 2026, at Monday’s city council meeting.”I think we owe it to the public,” he said in front of a gallery full of frequent swimmers concerned about the impact of the extended closure.But his motion failed, with the majority of council saying the debate over how to best handle scheduled repairs to the aquatic centre has been settled — and with the closure just weeks away, it’s too late to revisit the decision.”We’ve had this discussion not once, not twice, but three times, now four times,” Coun. Ron Polillo said during the sometimes heated discussion Monday night. LISTEN | Concerned swimmer worries about impact of closure:Daybreak North9:38Pool user tracks potential impact of Prince George Aquatic Centre closureAmelia Merrick has been talking to people at the pool about how a planned two-year closure of the Aquatic Centre in Prince George might impact them.The city’s director of facilities, Andy Beasley, said with renovation work already underway, attempting to put off the repairs would lead to higher costs and a larger public impact.”It would actually result in more overall days of disruption,” he said. After an hour of heated debate, Yu’s motion was defeated in a 6-3 vote.Council then approved spending $36,000 on new dive platforms for the Canfor Leisure Pool, so it can be used for competitions during the Prince George Aquatic Centre’s closure.LISTEN | Yu’s motion was defeated Monday:Daybreak North6:56Prince George pool closure to proceedA motion from the mayor to reopen the debate on a planned two year closure of the Prince George Aquatic Centre was defeated.With files from Hanna Petersen
Prince George, B.C., buying new dive platforms to offset impact of 2-year aquatic centre closure
