After a long cold winter, summer has officially begun and Canadians are dying to get back into the water, in some cases, quite literally. Officials in the province of Quebec are asking people to please respect warning signs near dangerous waterways after two people drowned last weekend, reports the Montreal Gazette.
“I think the exotic element of rivers is naturally attractive,” Raynald Hawkins of Quebec’s Lifesaving Society told the newspaper. The problem is that changing sands and currents can make rivers dangerous in places where people may have swum safely before.
Drowning prevention a priority in Canada
Canada goes to great lengths to ensure water safety and ramps up efforts at this time of year. Children are encouraged to take swimming and safety lesson with the Red Cross, campaigns remind boaters of safety measures like wearing floatation devices and not drinking alcohol, and parents are warned to fence and lock their swimming pools.
Drownings decrease
These measures do help. The Gazette reports that in Quebec in the 1990s there was an average of 125 drownings per year. Ten years later the average dropped to about 75 and last year there were only 51.
The drowning deaths of toddlers grab the most headlines, but the highest risk group is 18- to 24-year olds, reports the newspaper.
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