Days after the Ontario government reinstated restrictions requiring the closure of most gyms, franchise owners of at least two fitness studios in Toronto will reopen.
“We are not defying provincial law, we are opening up legally,” said Phil Cormier, owner of an F45 studio in downtown King Street West.
“Each study has to make its own decision,” Cormier told Global News by phone.
Another F45 franchise on Danforth Avenue also told members that it would reopen to customers on the weekend.
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In an email sent to members, F45 Training Downtown Toronto reported that it would “open under modified restrictions … that allow the facility to remain open during a closure to serve individuals experiencing a disability.”
“You have to sign a waiver saying you have a note” from a medical professional, Cormier told Global News, emphasizing that his study would not require proof of any medical justification.
In its email to members, Study F45 reported that no documentation was required to be able to work on the study.
“These letters will not be required to be seen by our trainers, owners, statutes or public health and it is not necessary for them to keep them, as they violate (sp) their human rights,” the email reads.
Toronto attorney Ryan O’Connor advises gym owners to reopen this way.
“The government clearly allows it and many gyms are taking advantage of the exception,” O’Connor told Global News in an interview.
“It is not an escape … it could be a mental health illness, a physical health ailment, an injury … serious or less serious … it is not a technicality, it is legally foreseen,” he added.
F45 Training, based in Austin, Texas, is marketing to young, physically-minded clients prepared to participate in high-intensity workouts. The company does not mention the treatment of disabilities in any of its online marketing ads.
“45 is the total amount of time for fun that makes you sweat and pump your heart,” according to the company’s website.
Global News sought comments from F45 Training, but none were provided at the time of publication.
But the CEO of a Toronto organization serving people with disabilities worries that gyms trying to use the exemption could put other organizations at risk.
“We serve a community that needs us and we must remain open to that community,” said Karen Stintz, executive director of Variety Village.
The 70-year-old charity in Scarborough operates a large gym, including swimming pools, a running track, and custom-designed equipment for people with physical and other disabilities.
About half of its members come from a larger community and are not eligible to use the facilities at this time.
“Variety Village will only be open to members with disabilities for therapeutic purposes only,” according to its website.
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Stintz says non-disabled members have not tried to continue using the gym and pool while trying to make use of the current waivers.
“When I think of other companies that do not actually serve a community with disabilities but are trying to use this as a loophole to stay open, I say that it is very risky,” he said, adding that the government could rescind the regulation that allow it to remain open.
“From my perspective, we would strongly ask that companies not do that. If they are legitimately serving people with disabilities then they should stay open. If they’re using it as a loophole to stay in business, that’s hurting those who need it most, ”Stintz said in an on-camera interview.
Stintz said Variety Village wants to make sure members who use the facilities during the restrictions do so in good faith.
“We tell our members who have a disability: ‘You have to provide us with a legitimate medical note,’” he said.
Cormier said his F45 study isn’t the only gym in Toronto that encourages members to use the waiver provisions.
“There are a lot of open gyms,” he said.
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