The committee voted in favour of amending the Municipal Code to require that all backyard pools are surrounded by four-sided fencing in an effort to prevent future drowning deaths.

"Drowning in swimming pools is the second leading cause of injury deaths in Canada," Ward 31 (Beaches-East York) Councillor Janet Davis said Friday, noting that "Safe Kids Canada predicts that seven out of 10 child drownings would be prevented if a four-sided fence municipal bylaw was put in place everywhere in Canada."

Residents owning existing pools will not be required to install new fencing.

"We're not expecting people with pools right now to go back and fix them retroactively, although I would like to see us do that over a period of time...but that's not what's being suggested here today," Davis said.

But Ward 2 (Etobicoke North) Councillor Rob Ford said the bylaw change will open a Pandora's Box.

"I think our existing bylaws are more than sufficient. Being an owner of a pool I know the safety issues that are involved. But this is going to go down a slippery path," he said.

Ford said that kids climb the fences surrounding city pools in his neighbourhood all the time to swim at night.

"I think the existing bylaws are fine. Throwing up more red tape here, which is all this is, I don't think we're going to resolve much instead of opening a whole can of worms," he said.

But committee chair and Ward 15 (Eglinton-Lawrence) Councillor Howard Moscoe disagreed.

"I don't understand where Councillor Ford is coming from at all. He says, 'What about the public pools?' This is not about kids climbing fences. This is about a toddler sauntering into a pool and drowning and every year we have one of these tragic drownings," Moscoe said. "Pool fence bylaws are a simple matter of simple safety."

Ward 39 (Scarborough-Agincourt) Councillor Mike Del Grande introduced a motion to ensure that the fencing installed between the house and the pool is constructed with materials that will provide visibility into swimming areas.

"To me a chain link fence is more apropos because you can see if there's something going on in the pool," he said, noting that the bylaw changes are appropriate.

"If you can save just one child, how much is that worth? I don't think there's a price you can put on that," he said.

The matter will go to council for approval Nov. 19.