Hundreds of GoodLife Fitness instructors across Canada have been let go, the company says.
In a statement emailed to Global News, GoodLife Fitness Chief Operating Officer Jason Sheridan said the company recently “made the difficult decision to end the employment of 480 group fitness instructors from 189 clubs across the country.”
“Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions on group activities, most of these instructors have not worked for the majority of the pandemic,” he said. “We recognize this is a challenging situation, and we are focused on supporting these individuals as they look for other opportunities, including various open positions at GoodLife.”
Sheridan said the pandemic restrictions “have been hard on the entire fitness industry and especially hard on group activities.”
“Because of this, we will not be able to expand our group fitness schedules in the near future to the point of bringing back additional instructors,” he said.
According to Sheridan, the instructors were notified via their GoodLife email, and were sent an “invitation to schedule follow-up calls” to address any questions.
In an email to Global News, Adam Roberts, a spokesperson for GoodLife Fitness said impacted employees were informed on March 2.
The same day, the company posted a tweet regarding a ‘Personal Training National Career Webinar.’
Are you looking for a career opportunity in Canada’s leading Fitness Club? ???? Join us virtually on March 9 at 1:00 pm for our Personal Training National Career Webinar and learn all about a career in Personal Training at GoodLife Fitness. Register here: https://t.co/5meXeZ6i7bpic.twitter.com/1sLLJtsb1c
Roberts said “like many businesses, GoodLife is continuing on the road to pandemic recovery and currently has hundreds of other positions we are recruiting for.”
“That is where the career fair comes in,” he said. “We recognize this is a challenging situation for the impacted individuals, and we are focused on supporting them as they look for other opportunities, including with various open positions at GoodLife.”
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One former employee, who spoke to Global News on the condition of anonymity, said the whole situation has been a “rollercoaster.” She worked for the company for more than 15 years.
She said she was a fitness instructor, and taught various group classes including yoga and dance.
“There was so much hope seeing things open back up – not just fitness clubs but other industries opening back up further – and vaccine mandates being lifted,” she said. “It was really moving in a positive direction so there was this huge feeling of hope, at least for myself, that we were getting back to normal and that maybe going to start to return to some of those things, the classes and the members that we knew and loved.”
She said she feels as though she’s in a state of “shock” now that the hope is gone.
What’s more, she said “it would have been nice to have the opportunity to speak with someone” about the termination, instead of receiving the news via email.
She said so far, she has not received any correspondence regarding an exit interview from GoodLife Fitness.
“We were given email contacts, if we had questions to reach out,” she said. “I haven’t been offered any sort of interview or follow-up in person or on the telephone. I’m still deciding which way I want to go on that.”
Asked about the job fair tweet, the employee called it a “slap in the face.”
“To have so many people be terminated, and then just a day or two later to see that there is a job fair?” she said “It’s kind of baffling honestly, you know, what sort of thinking was happening at that point?”
Asked whether she and other employees are thinking about pursuing legal action over the terminations, she said “she’s not sure.”
“I’m still exploring some avenues, so we’ll sort of see what happens,” she said. “And I think at this point, it’s up to everybody to decide whether they want to fight something like this, or whether that heartache and that turmoil will just be too much for them and they would like to let it go and start to move on.”
2:10 Ontario lifts capacity limits in some indoor public spaces including restaurants, gyms and cinemas
Ontario lifts capacity limits in some indoor public spaces including restaurants, gyms and cinemas – Feb 17, 2022
Another employee who Global News spoke with said she worked for the company for nearly 11 years, and taught around 10 classes per week. Global News has also agreed to protect her identity over fears of potential backlash.
She said because of an exclusivity agreement, she and other instructors were not allowed to teach fitness classes elsewhere.
“GoodLife holds all of my certifications and therefore decimated my fitness career,” a statement emailed to Global News says.
“I cannot work anywhere else as they hold exclusivity of our international certifications,” she said.
Severance for terminated employees
In an email to Global News, Jon Pinkus, a partner at employment law Firm Samfiru Tumarkin, said severance for terminated employees could be up to 24 months’ pay and benefits, depending on their age, position and the amount of time they worked for the company.
“Severance is also affected by an individual’s ability to find new work, especially if they worked in a specialized role or require retraining,” Pinkus explained. “This would apply only for those who are non-unionized.”
Pinkus said if employees who have been terminated have not been paid severance or offered an adequate severance package, they “have been wrongfully dismissed” and could file a lawsuit.
“They should absolutely talk to an employment lawyer right away,” he wrote.
However, Pinkus said a lawsuit or legal claim may not even be necessary, “as these are typically straightforward matters to resolve.”
“Employees also have a right to review their legal options after being let go, and don’t have to accept a severance offer by a deadline set by their employer,” he said. “The reality is that they have two years after their termination to file a legal claim for severance.”
EDMONTON – Ontario country artist Jade Eagleson has won album of the year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Edmonton.
The singer from Bailieboro, Ont., was up for six awards alongside Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter.
Eagleson took home album of the year for “Do It Anyway” and says he’s thankful to his wife and management team for helping him reach the level he’s at.
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., also won fans’ choice and group of the year at the award show, held in Edmonton.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Another Ontario crooner, Josh Ross, has taken home a trio of awards, receiving entertainer of the year, male artist of the year and single of the year.
He says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year makes the hard work worth it.
Porter took home female artist of the year, ending the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until tonight.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
The return of k.d. lang and the Reclines was expected to be a highlight of the show.
The appearance will mark the first time the Alberta songstress has teamed up with the band in 35 years and is tied to lang’s induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
The awards show is back in Alberta’s capital for the first time since 2014. It was held in Hamilton last year and in Calgary in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
VANDERHOOF, B.C. – British Columbia Conservatives are promising changes they say will bring more stability to the province’s struggling forest industry.
Leader John Rustad announced his plan for the sector a week before the official launch of the provincial election campaign, saying a Conservative government would do away with stumpage fees paid when timber is harvested and instead put a tax on the final products that are produced.
Rustad said Saturday that under a provincial Conservative government, a small fee may be charged upfront, but the bulk would come at the end of the process, depending on what type of product is created.
He also promised to review how wildfires are managed, as well as streamline the permit process and review what he calls the province’s “uncompetitive cost structure.”
“British Columbia is by far the highest cost producers of any jurisdiction in North America. We need to be able to drive down those costs, so that our forest sector can actually be able to do the reinvestment, to be able to create the jobs and make sure that they’re still there to be able to support our communities,” he said.
The governing New Democrats meanwhile, say eliminating stumpage fees would inflame the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and hurt forestry workers.
In a statement issued by the NDP, Andrew Mercier, the party’s candidate in Langley-Willowbrook, said Rustad failed to support the industry when he was in government under the former BC Liberals.
“Not only will Rustad’s old thinking and recycled ideas fail to deliver, his proposal to eliminate stumpage would inflame the softwood lumber dispute — punishing forestry workers and communities,” Mercier said, accusing Rustad of ignoring the complexity of the challenges facing the industry.
The softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada stretches back decades. In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce nearly doubled duties on softwood lumber.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng has said Canada has taken steps to launch two legal challenges under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Rustad said a provincial Conservative government would push hard to get a deal with the United States over the ongoing dispute “whether it’s with the rest of Canada or by itself.”
He said his party’s proposed changes are in the name of bringing “stability” and “hope” to the industry that has seen multiple closures of mills in rural communities over the last several years.
Most recently, Canfor Corp. decided to shutter two northern British Columbia sawmills earlier this month, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed by the end of the year.
According to the United Steelworkers union, Canfor has closed 10 mills in the province since November 2011, including nine in northern B.C.
Jeff Bromley, chair of the United Steelworkers wood council, said Saturday the idea of changes in favour of taxing the final product has been floated in the past.
He said the finer details of the Conservative plan will be important, but that the system needs to be improved and “new ideas are certainly something I’d be willing to entertain.”
“Something needs to happen, or the industry is just going to bleed and wither away and be a shadow of its former self,” Bromley said.
“Politics aside, if (Rustad) can come up with a policy that enables my members to work, then I would be supportive of that. But then I’m supportive of any government that would come up with policies and fibre for our mills to run. Period.”
When Canfor announced its latest closures, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the sector was a “foundational part” of the province and the current NDP government would work to support both local jobs and wood manufacturing operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
