With schools now out and many families heading to area lakes, rivers and other water bodies for summer holidays, the importance of always practising water safety cannot be overstated.
For while activities such as boating, water-skiing, fishing and swimming can make for great family fun, they also have the potential to cause injuries and even death.
And as past tragedies have shown, children are particularly vulnerable to water dangers. As such, parents and other caregivers have the responsibility to make sure water safety comes first.
This year, the Canadian Safe Boating Council has teamed up with the Alberta Fish & Game Association to reiterate the water safety message, all in an effort to make summer 2018 a tragedy-free time for Alberta families.
And one of the key messages coming out of the initiative is the vital importance of every boater always wearing a life-jacket.
According to the council and the Canadian Lifesaving Society, 80 per cent of recreational boaters who drown each and every year in Canada were not wearing a life-jacket or personal flotation device, says John Gullick, chairman of the council
And most of these drownings occur in small, open powerboats, accounting for 60 per cent of these preventable deaths, he said.
“National surveys clearly show that more than half the recreational boats sold in Canada are used for fishing on a regular basis,” he said. “During National Fishing Week (June 30 to July 8), the council would like to remind all anglers not only to have their life-jacket on board their boat, but to look after it and wear it. “
The Alberta Fish & Game Association has the same message: everyone on a boat should wear a life-jacket.
“You wouldn’t go fishing without putting your boat’s drain plug in, so why would you go out without putting on a flotation device that can save your life?” says association president Doug Butler.
Boaters are also reminded that excessive alcohol consumption and boating never mix.
Summer is a great time for water activity fun – as long as safety always comes first.
- Singleton is the Mountain View Gazette editor
