u/NotMeanJustReal

I was recently looking into registering for the "Learn to Swim" swimming classes programs over at the Carville Community Center just across the border in City of Vaughan Vaughan, and I was completely blindsided by their new registration process.

Instead of the standard, simple "click here to agree to terms" checkbox at checkout, inside the community centre Vaughan is now forcing parents to sign a massive, separate 4-page "Release of Liability, Waiver of Claims, Assumption of Risks and Indemnity Agreement."
I actually took the time to read through the legalese, and the clauses they are forcing residents to sign are incredibly aggressive for a basic kids' swim class:

• The Waiver of Right to Sue: You explicitly agree that even if the city or the lifeguards are completely negligent, you waive your right to take them to court for damages.

• The Indemnity Clause: In plain English, you agree to "hold harmless and indemnify" the city. This means if any legal claim arises from your family’s participation, you are contractually agreeing to cover their financial losses, which includes paying for the city's lawyers and court fees.

• The Perpetual Photo/Video Release: It gives them a permanent, royalty-free license to use any photos or videos taken of your kids during the program for promotional purposes without further consent.

I know municipalities are dealing with skyrocketing insurance premiums, which is likely why Vaughan upgraded their system to force these standalone signatures. But forcing a parent to legally agree to pay for a city's corporate lawyers just so a kid can learn to swim feels like massive overkill.

My question for Richmond Hill parents: Does our city do this too now?

EDIT - see some of the crazy clauses I posted as replied to this thread as they are too long.

Saw parents signing their kids and their own right away, literally. I don’t think anyone read these.

Any parents registering their kids for the "Learn to Swim" swimming lessons programs at City of Vaughan this season (specifically experienced this at Carville Community Center, but it applies city-wide on PerfectMind).

If you haven’t registered yet, be prepared: the city has completely changed how they handle liability. Instead of the old, simple "click here to agree to terms" checkbox at checkout, they are now forcing you to review and sign a massive, separate 4-page "Release of Liability, Waiver of Claims, Assumption of Risks and Indemnity Agreement."
I actually took the time to read through the legalese, and some of the boilerplate clauses they are forcing everyday residents to sign are incredibly aggressive for a basic municipal kids' swim class:

• The Waiver of Right to Sue: You are explicitly agreeing that even if the city or the lifeguards are completely negligent, you waive your right to take them to court for damages.

• The Indemnity Clause: This is the most intense part. It explicitly states you agree to "hold harmless and indemnify" the city. In plain English, if any legal claim or issue arises from your family’s participation, you are contractually agreeing to cover their financial losses, which includes paying for the city's lawyers and court fees.

• The Photo/Video Release: Hidden inside is a clause giving them a permanent, royalty-free license to use any photos or videos taken of your kids during the program for promotional purposes without further consent.

I know cities are dealing with skyrocketing insurance premiums, and Ontario courts have cracked down on "hidden fine print" waivers, which is likely why Vaughan upgraded their system to force these standalone signatures.
But forcing a parent to legally agree to pay for a municipality's corporate lawyers just so a kid can learn to swim feels like massive overkill.
Just wanted to give a heads-up so you aren't blindsided by a 4-page legal contract while trying to rush through the checkout flow before slots fill up!

EDIT For those saying it was always the same — For context, I dug up the old & current waiver on Perfect Mind waiver we used to sign, and the difference is insane. The city didn't just update the text; they completely stripped away our choices:
• The Photo Release used to be optional: On the old form, there was a clear choice at the bottom: [ ] Yes, I grant permission or [ ] No, I do not grant permission. If you wanted privacy for your kid, you just checked No. In the new 4-page waiver, the photo release is baked right into the contract. You can't opt out anymore—if you want the swim class, you have to hand over permanent rights to your kid's image.
• From "Emergency Care" to "Total Immunity": The old form was basically a code of conduct mixed with emergency medical consent (giving them permission to call 911 and admin first aid). The new waiver adds heavy, explicit legal language protecting them even in cases of staff negligence (like a distracted lifeguard or broken equipment).
• The "Indemnity" trap has massive teeth now: While the old form had standard municipal wording about not suing for medical bills, the new 4-page contract isolates and supercharges the Indemnity Clause. It makes it undeniable that if any legal issue arises, you are contractually on the hook to cover the city's financial losses, which means paying for their corporate lawyers.

UPDATE: someone on Richmond Hill forum found and shared the link to Vaughan’s audit that apparently prompted this. It’s crazy. it turns out Vaughan’s Internal Audit Department released a Recreation Services Audit Report (available publicly on the city's eScribe portal, Document ID 198946).
The audit revealed that the city’s internal tracking was a complete mess. They caught massive scheduling errors, non-integrated systems for tracking staff qualifications, and worse—they literally caught people sneaking into the pools without scanning pass cards.

https://pub-vaughan.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=198946

THIS IS IMPORTANT- In Ontario case law, the literal legal definition of "indemnify and hold harmless" means that if an outside party launches a lawsuit that involves your child, you agree to step in and absorb the city's financial losses—including their legal defense costs from the very first dollar.

For example- Your child is at camp or swim class and gets into a bad scuffle with another kid, or accidentally causes another child to fall and get severely injured. —— The parents of the other child decide to sue the City of Vaughan for lack of supervision.——Because you signed a clause agreeing to "indemnify and hold the city harmless" for any claims arising out of your child's attendance, the city’s legal team can pull out that waiver. They can legally demand that you cover the costs of defending the city against that other family’s lawsuit.

UPDATE ## 5 - They cannot make you sign this after first class as then they would be in breach of contract. See my explanations below as replied as well as crazy clauses I posted as replies as they are too long including duty of care and invasion of privacy!